"I’m quite happy to rattle off their name, their shoe size, the color of their hair, and let genius and instinct take it from there." Little does the writer suspect where this laissez-faire policy toward his characters will lead him. Colleagues Martin Oxford and Josh Waterford have the bright idea to take their families on a break together to a remote farm in Devon. As they and their bewildered narrator soon discover, the Oxfords’ idea of a gratifying leisure pursuit differs mortifyingly from the more staid Waterfords'. Only the Oxfords' excitable Labrador is really having any fun, amusing himself by harassing Sammy, the decrepit but wise farmyard cat. Meanwhile, Sammy’s owners have problems of their own. But as relations among the three families reach a crescendo of embarrassment, resentment, and mutual distaste, a certain cat and dog seem to have established their own sort of peace. This brilliantly assured, riotously funny novel takes on sexual politics, social mores, and the changing countryside.
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About the Author:
Michael Edwards was born in Brixton, London, and left school at fifteen to become a cabinet-maker's apprentice, something he soon swapped for a military career. Following that he worked in City finance for some years and later as a cereals importer. He now lives quietly with his wife in the prime coastal town of Bournemouth. His writing has long been regarded only as a hobby, and now it is still seen by him as a 'harmless pastime'.
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- PublisherMacmillan UK New Writing
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 0230712525
- ISBN 13 9780230712522
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages304