Walking Naked

telescopes the whole of Laura's life�childhood, marriages, triumphs, and disappointments�into a day in which the past and the present converge. It begins with a game of tennis played for duty rather than amusement and progresses, via an afternoon party of old friends and jaded emotions, to a bewildering visit to Laura's son, who is imprisoned on a drugs charge. At its close, the possibility of death within the family brings unresolved conflicts to center stage, and Laura strips herself of the posturing and self-deceit with which she has cloaked her vulnerability. Continually surprising, witty, and often disquieting, this is one of Nina Bawden's most impressive novels.