If we give any thought at all to who we are, I suspect most of us think of our identity as something fixed and permanent. We’re born who we are and we stay that way until we die, with our fundamental essence, much like our eye color, unchanged. Graham Swift, I think, sees things differently and knows that identity is much more slippery and a lot less permanent than most of us realize. Living is a process of subtly shifting and evolving identities. The unique core of every individual changes shape over a lifetime, often unconsciously but sometimes willfully and abruptly. We’re mostly careful to hide the process from others, preferring the illusion of constancy.

Illusion is the key word here because Swift’s latest novel is set in the late 1950s among the popular entertainers – magicians, novelty acts, and comedians – that were the fodder for UK theatergoers in those days. A type of entertainment that today seems archaic was even then beginning to feel old fashioned as it gave way to television and cinema. Ronnie Deane (aka The Great Pablo), along with his assistant, Eve, is the triumph of the summer season in Brighton, delighting crowds with his illusions and magic tricks. When the season ends with the final show, Ronnie has one final trick up his sleeve …

Here We Are is about secrets, memories, and the common and not-so-common illusions of ordinary lives. In the brilliance of its storytelling Graham Swift reminds us again what a magical artist he is.