A Song and Dance by PJ Kavanagh (1968)

This is to some extent a novel in Eastmancolor. There is a strong sense about it of yellowed sixties-ness. But where other novels with similar takes don't add a lot to that, and feel pretty flat, this one has a whole extra plane brought to it by Kavanagh's beautiful sense of poetic observation. This relatively simple story of a transgressive love affair which very soon reveals itself as a transformative experience for both partners is graced by the author's love of love, mordant and wry explication of life's puzzles, filmic sensibility and light touch. Though Beatrix and Colm's affair is illicit in the sense that it occurs outside her marriage, her honesty with her husband about it is both honourable and empathetic. These are civilised people without being stiffened by it. There are some great subsidiary characters - one in particular, Margaret, the wife of Colm's boss, is a fine study of an unconventional woman of great wisdom. I'm looking forward to seeing if his subsequent three novels can capture more in the way of freshness and immediacy - the slightly crackly soundtrack of this one is its only real failing.