Author:Debbie Carbin
Beth Sheridan likes her life the way it is. OK, so her job's a little dull and her social life leaves a lot to be desired. But none of that really matters because Beth is in love with Richard. And one day they will be together. Yes, there are a few teeny obstacles, like the fact that Richard has been Beth's boss for eight years and that he is currently living in Portugal with another woman. But these are just minor details because Beth just knows that one day, the scales will fall from Richard's eyes and he will realise that it is Beth that he has always wanted.
Beth's feisty flatmate Vini doesn't harbour any such illusions and decides that Beth needs to give up on Richard and find love elsewhere. Reluctantly Beth agrees to Vini's (at times extreme) plan of action. Following a puppeteers convention, a speed dating event, a chance encounter in a shopping mall and some pretty flirtatious email banter, Beth is suddenly dealing with three new men. There's the lovely down-to-earth Brad, who she just can't quite pin down, and the charming, millionaire Rupert. She's never actually met Rupert but judging from his emails, he seems to just get her. What's more, there's also sleazy Sean from the office who's suddenly seeming not-so-sleazy ...
And just when things couldn't get more complicated, the gorgeous Richard waltzes back into her life. What's a girl to do?
One of the great English novels of recent years, a work of sublime literary realism, and a blackly comic meditation on the sins and sorrows of modernity
—— Rachel CuskWonderfully dark
—— The TimesA terrific debut, written in a present tense which flashes every so often into the past - a trick which Szalay pulls off with confidence... a tense and compelling read
—— IndependentA funny, painful, graphic demonstration that our job is a crucial part of our identity.... It's compulsively readable
—— Independent on SundaySzalay's satire is sharp, though his depictions of rush-hour raise the blood pressure to levels that are not advisable
—— Nicholas Lezard , GuardianThis is David Szalay's first novel, and it's very, very good...it has a whiff of The Office...Superb
—— Johanna Thomas-Corr , ScotsmanIt's very, very good
—— William Leith , Evening StandardCunning, relentlessly jokey and sad
—— ObserverTo dive into a Wodehouse novel is to swim in some of the most elegantly turned phrases in the English language
—— Ben SchottWodehouse is so utterly, properly, simply funny
—— Adele ParksI've recorded all the Jeeves books, and I can tell you this: it's like singing Mozart. The perfection of the phrasing is a physical pleasure. I doubt if any writer in the English language has more perfect music
—— Simon CallowThe greatest comic writer ever
—— Douglas AdamsWodehouse was quite simply the Bee's Knees. And then some
—— Joseph ConnollyI constantly find myself drooling with admiration at the sublime way Wodehouse plays with the English language
—— Simon BrettQuite simply, the master of comic writing at work
—— Jane MooreTo pick up a Wodehouse novel is to find oneself in the presence of genius - no writer has ever given me so much pure enjoyment
—— John Julius NorwichCompulsory reading for anyone who has a pig, an aunt - or a sense of humour!
—— Lindsey DavisThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper
—— Hugh LaurieP.G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than valium and far, far more addictive
—— Olivia WilliamsMy only problem with Wodehouse is deciding which of his enchanting books to take to my desert island
—— Ruth Dudley EdwardsThe 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 WeirP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century
—— Sebastian FaulksSublime comic genius
—— Ben EltonWodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in
—— Evelyn Waugh