Is Beauty Good by Rosalind Belben review – the literary equivalent of free jazz

Combining hilarious detail with harsh observation, this rediscovered novel takes the reader on an exhilaratingly strange journey ‘But after all, writing is nothing more than a guided dream,” wrote Jorge Luis Borges. Dreams and dreaming are fertile concerns for Rosalind Belben, too. Her fourth book, originally published in 1979 and reissued last year, was titled Dreaming of Dead People. It was followed, a decade later, by Is Beauty Good. Now available in a new edition from the Sheffield indie...

By Lara Pawson