Synopses & Reviews
With her children evacuated and her husband at the front, Tory Pace is grudgingly sharing the family home with her irascible mother; working at the local gelatin factory--to help the war effort--and generally doing just about as well as could be expected
Review
"Unusual . . . readers who enjoy the unexpected and stories with a skewed comic sensibility should seek out this novel." Library Journal
Review
"Engrossing and witty...Woodward has a gift for describing unorthodox behavior...a deeply satisfying book" Times Literary Supplement
Review
"Woodward’s brilliant exploration of ordinary lives caught in extraordinary circumstances showcases an imaginative wit, pointed insight, and a flare for the unexpected . . . Woodward (A Curious Earth, shortlisted for the Man Booker) takes a unique approach to the hardships women faced during wartime, the impact of the war on the men who survived, and the ways in which the children who lived through it tried to make sense of their upended lives, turning a story about one family’s struggles into a tale of self-discovery, overcoming despair, and finding one’s rightful place in the world. Best of all is the ingenious use of Toby’s salacious letters and Woodward’s not-so-subtle indictment of commercial publishing." Publisher's Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
“Sex, comedy, and life during wartime . . . pierced with brutal shafts of beauty, humor and heartbreak.” —The New York Times Review of Books
About the Author
Gerard Woodward is the author of the Booker Prize finalist I'll Go to Bed at Noon and A Curious Earth. He was born in London in 1961, and published several prize-winning collections of poetry before turning to fiction. He is a professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and lives in Bath, England.