Mother London by Michael Moorcock is my January book of the month. An intriguing, unconventional novel that blends elements of magical realism and social commentary with a deep exploration of mental health. Set in post-war London, the novel follows the intersecting lives of three central characters, David Mummery, Josef Kiss (one of Moorcock’s favourite characters) and Mary Gasalee all of whom have suffered from mental illness and possess a spiritual connection to the city.

The book, like the characters themselves follows no set pattern. It jumps between decades and his description of London at each of these times is evocative and accurate. Moorcock brilliantly captures the essence of the city from bomb sites to bustling streets, the pub trade at lunchtime to the ward nurse at the psychiatric hospital and whilst it is hard not to feel the pang of nostalgia Moorcock avoids it.

This is a critical appreciation of time and place and the stories of three people swallowed up in the city’s vortex and a fight for survival in the balance between sanity and madness. Each of the three main protagonists are complex, engaging characters who are dealing with alienation, lost love, recovery and a sense of belonging. They, along with the other characters in the book are a reminder of that rare species, the ‘character’. Society, over time has sought to flush out, standardise and sterilise its own, to commit the eccentric to the outskirts and eventual oblivion and Moorcock reminds us of what we have lost to pub chains, retail parks and social conformity.

The other central character is London itself, the heartbeat of the city from the 1940s to the 80s pulses throughout, the sense of social history is palpable with Moorcock exploring urban life and the impact war and subsequent regeneration had on the city’s people. This struck me as a window into the psyche of the city as told by people very much looking out from deep within. Where there is darkness there is also humour and Moorcock brilliantly captures the thought processes of those living with a mental illness in all of their manifestations.

This isn’t a book for everyone, a novel it is not but to allow yourself to go with the ebb and flow of the narrative rather than question its purpose or conclusion is to understand the concept. Moorcock shows that a city, like its people isn’t and shouldn’t be formulaic and this book is anything but.