London and the South-East
London and the South-East
paperback
Published:
2 April, 2009
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Description
THE 2025 BOOKER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR OF FLESH
'One of the great English novels of recent years' Rachel Cusk
A discontented ad salesman finds his life changed, in the wryly funny and addictive first novel from the 2025 Booker-Prize winning author of FLESH
Paul Rainey, an ad salesman, perceives dimly through a fog of psychoactive substances his dissatisfaction with his life - professional, sexual, weekends, the lot. He only wishes there was something he could do about it.
And 'something' seems to fall into his lap when a meeting with an old friend and fellow salesman, Eddy Jaw, leads to the offer of a new job. But when this offer turns out to be as misleading as Paul's sales patter, his life and that of his family are transformed in ways very much more peculiar than he ever thought possible.
‘Startlingly good’ The Independent
‘Wonderfully dark’ The Times
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780099515890 |
| ISBN10 | 009951589X |
| Number Of Pages | 352 |
| Item Weight | 249 g |
| Product Dimensions | 129 x 198 x 21 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Vintage Publishing |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
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 Cusk
Brilliant... funny, painful, graphic... Compulsively readable * Independent on Sunday *
A wonderfully dark debut... A strikingly poetic glimpse into the soul of the faceless, big creatures into whose armpits one has so often been squashed on the central line * The Times *
This is David Szalay's first novel, and startlingly good... A terrific debut... A tense and compelling read * Independent *
Superb... Riveting * Financial Times *
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 Cusk
Wonderfully dark * The Times *
A 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 * Independent *
A funny, painful, graphic demonstration that our job is a crucial part of our identity.... It's compulsively readable * Independent on Sunday *
Szalay's satire is sharp, though his depictions of rush-hour raise the blood pressure to levels that are not advisable -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
David Szalay is the author of six works of fiction, including London and the South-East, for which he was awarded the Betty Trask and Geoffrey Faber Memorial prizes, All That Man Is, for which he was awarded the Gordon Burn Prize and Plimpton Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Turbulence, which won the Edge Hill Prize. Born in Canada, he grew up in London, and now lives in Vienna. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages.