Author:Howard Jacobson
In an ever divided Britain, this wryly observed novel is a timely and thought-provoking read from the Booker-winning author of The Finkler Question.
'A very funny, bitterly intelligent novel...do read it' Malcolm Bradbury
Sefton Goldberg: mid-thirties, English teacher at Wrottesley Poly in the West Midlands; small, sweaty, lustful, defiantly unappreciative of beer, nature and organised games; gnawingly aware of being an urban Jew islanded in a sea of country-loving Anglo-Saxons. Obsessed by failure - morbidly, in his own case, gloatingly, in that of his contemporaries - so much so that he plans to write a bestseller on the subject.
In the meantime he is uncomfortably aware of advancing years and atrophying achievement, and no amount of lofty rationalisation can disguise the triumph of friends and colleagues, not only from Cambridge days but even within the despised walls of the Poly itself, or sweeten the bitter pill of another's success...
Howard Jacobson is one of the funniest writers alive... His writing pulsates with nerve and edge; it is colossal in its comic precision; at its best it simply tears you apart
—— The TimesLucky Jim undated... Witty, observant, clever, a first-rate entertainment and something more besides
—— GuardianJacobson's humour is unashamedly savage and his jokes as sharp as a switch-blade... comic vitriol worthy of Evelyn Waugh
—— Sunday ExpressThe funniest book I’ve ever read… Every line is funny in a cutting, clever way
—— Sophie Hannah , Daily ExpressEvery word of this novel rings true, and nothing is funnier than the truth. But as a master of creating laughter on the edge of pain, Jacobson also likes us to think
—— Rosalind Miles , WeekUtterly gripping, truly innovative, beautifully written. One of those novels which knocks you sideways with the brilliance of the idea behind it
—— StylistA real joy to read: funny, clever and original. A darkly comic debut that hits all the right notes
—— ScotsmanInventive and original
—— GraziaAt every turn, Udall plays with his readers' expectations of believers and non-believers, husbands and wives...That this longish book is kept largely aloft by a structure of humorous conceits is an indication of the author's strengths as a storyteller.
—— Emma Hagestadt , IndependentA haunting debut that eschews sensationalism and unfurls with quiet delicacy
—— Easy Living[An] ambitious debut
—— Financial TimesRiveting, luminous
—— The New York Times Book ReviewFelix Quinn, the narrator of the book...explains it beautifully - and this is a very good novel... Feeling unsafe makes him feel alive. And loss, of course, is the wellspring of good storytelling
—— Evening StandardThe Act of Love is an ambitious and at times extremely uncomfortable novel
—— The TelegraphIt is an almost frighteningly brilliant achievement. Why did the Booker judges not recognise it?
—— The GuardianThis is a very good novel
—— ScotsmanJacobson's 10th novel is a moving, thought-provoking and darkly witty story of desire and love
—— Irish Times
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