Author:Antony Moore
"Since I last saw them I've not got married, or had any children, or got a promotion, or inherited a fortune; I've been doing exactly the same things I was doing last time I went."
"Well tell them you've expanded."
"They'll see that for themselves."
Another school reunion looms for Harvey Briscow, and once again he agonises over whether to attend; as the owner of a comic shop, a devout drinker, smoker and full-time misanthropist, he's spent much of his time wondering what might have been had he chosen another path. Nothing in Harvey's life has changed since the last reunion, five years ago, or indeed the one before, and short of fabricating a fantastic change of fortune there's little to be had by going. Not until Josh, his sole employee and only true friend, suggests he may have opportunity to reclaim a very rare comic Harvey once swapped, does he galvanise himself into action.
On arrival at the crowded event he meets the much-maligned Charles 'Bleeder' Odd, who has now matured into a successful businessman and appears nauseatingly content with his lot. But as Harvey makes inroads to retrieve his lost comic, he begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. The worthless item he exchanged it for must have some significance...
The Swap cracks along at a tremendous pace. On one level Antony Moore's debut is a superbly plotted thriller, on another, a hilarious black comedy that will amuse anyone who has attended, or considered attending, a school reunion.
A surprising and page-turning tale with a comic flair as rare as a Superman One
—— Danny WallaceA very funny look at the awfulness of ageing, and also an intriguing thriller
—— Kate Saunders , The TimesGreat fun, and, in its marriage of revenge tragedy and Whitehall farce, truly original
—— Independent on SundayIf you haven't read We Have Always Lived in the Castle ... you have missed out on something marvellous.
—— Neil GaimanHer greatest book ... at once whimsical and harrowing, a miniaturist's charmingly detailed fantasy sketched inside a mausoleum ... Through depths and depths and bloodwarm depths we fall, until the surface is only an eerie gleam high above, nearly forgotten; and the deeper we sink, the deeper we want to go
—— Donna TarttThis novel brings back all my faith in terror and death. I can say no higher of it and her
—— Dorothy Parker , EsquireAn amazing writer
—— Neil GaimanThe world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable ... She is a true master
—— A. M. HomesA masterpiece of Gothic suspense
—— Joyce Carol OatesSo eerie, so disturbing, and not a wasted word, it has the kind of economy I wish I knew how to achieve
—— Jonathan CoeFor me, it is that unique and dreamlike book ... that stands as her masterpiece
—— Jonathan LethemWe Have Always Lived in the Castle is Jackson's masterpiece ... Stunning
—— Elaine ShowalterManages the ironic miracle of convincing the reader that a house inhabited by a lunatic, a poisoner, and a pyromaniac is a world more rich in sympathy, love and subtlety than the world outside
—— TimeA witch's brew of eerie power and startling novelty
—— The New York TimesA marvellous elucidation of life ... a story full of craft and full of mystery
—— The New York Times Book ReviewCompulsory reading for anyone who has a pig, an aunt - or a sense of humour!
—— Lindsey DavisThe Wodehouse wit should be registered at Police HQ as a chemical weapon
—— Kathy LetteWitty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny
—— Arabella WeirThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper
—— Hugh LaurieThe greatest comic writer ever
—— Douglas AdamsP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century
—— Sebastian FaulksSublime comic genius
—— Ben EltonYou don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour
—— Stephen Fry
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