The Girl with Glass Feet

An assured first book from a very young writer (I think he is 24).
Ida McLaird's feet are turning into glass... At first, I thought that this would mean magical realism, but Ali Shaw chose a rather more unexpected route. He writes of Ida's illness acceptingly, so each character doesn't have to go through the whole tiresome rigmarole of disbelief, but instead the book focuses on her relationship with a lonely and cripplingly awkward photographer whom she meets as she returns to the island where her illness first manifested itself.
But (and this is my only but) the story begins in a dream-like way, so when suddenly Midas (the photographer) prints off pictures from his digital camera, it's very jarring and you have to re-assess your preconceptions about the book. Perhaps the author meant to do this, if so, it's a very clever device. I don't think that the book's cover does it any favours, as it prepares you for a very whimsical (dare I say it, girly) read. It isn't that at all.
St. Hauda's Land, where the book is set, is rendered stunningly by the author. He conjures up a marshy, misty land of snow and monochrome colour, which is starkly mirrored in what is happening to Ida. She comes back to the island to find a cure, to contact the only person she met when she last came. Henry Fuwa is a biologist studying miniature moth-winged cattle, which he desperately tries to keep a secret.
There is quite a complicated love-through-the-generations scenario, of Henry Fuwa having once been in love with Midas' mother. The story also intercuts with scenes from Midas' childhood with his cold, unaffectionate father, who he blames for his current inability to connect and sustain relationships with people.
Ida persists with Midas, however, constantly offering the refrain that she has no time, as the glass is rapidly spreading through her body. This becomes Midas' salvation, as he cannot wallow in self-pity and seclusion any longer.
'The Girl with Glass Feet' is very insightful and gives a different perspective on doomed love. It also helps you to understand human fear in relation to other people as something very universal, as there are so many cringe-worthy moments where Midas acts horribly, regretfully awkward, it feels incredibly true to life.
I can't wait to read more by this author, who very cleverly manages to avoid first-novel archetypes.