AN EPIC story spanning a century, A Man Of His Time centres around the life of blacksmith Ernest Burton and his family, focusing on how they are torn apart thanks to their father's tyrannical ways - and how this legacy carries through to the following generations.

Burton is a hard man, born in the latter half of the 19th century. A womaniser with a lust for a good drink, he woos and marries a barmaid, Mary Ann, and together they produce eight children.

Tragedy strikes when the eldest son, Oliver, catches his father and girlfriend, Alma, having an affair and signs up for the army, where he is killed by a mad horse just a few months into the Great War. Burton, though not inclined to reproach himself for much of the misery he causes, blames himself and never recovers from this the loss.

However, this doesn't stop his philandering ways. By the time of his death at the age of 80, he has survived two world wars, been blinded in one eye and discovered that he has two more children he knew nothing about. He is feared and loathed by his children and grandchildren; but they will never forget him.

Sillitoe's eye for description is remarkable, letting the reader feel that they are there with the characters, seeing the sights and breathing in the smells. However, his use of several narrators can confuse, and the jumps in the timeline are disruptive.

Otherwise, a cracking read.

Updated: 08:44 Wednesday, June 16, 2004