The Confusion of Karen Carpenter, a book that will make you laugh and cry, is by Coronation Street scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey.

'It's a total page-turner, very entertaining, then very moving.' - Marian Keyes, ahuthor of Grown Ups

Hello. There are two things you should know about me:

1) My name is Karen Carpenter.

2) Just before Christmas my boyfriend left me.

I'm not THE Karen Carpenter. I just have the most embarrassing name in Christendom. Particularly as I'm no skinny minny and don't play the drums.

I can't even sing. I'm tone deaf. I work in a school in the East End. (Where I came third in a 'Teacher we'd most like to sleep with' competition amongst the Year 11 boys)

My Mum's driving me mad. She's come to stay and is obsessed with Scandi crime shows and Zumba.

Oh yeah. The boyfriend. After eleven 'happy' years he left me. No explanation just a post it on the kettle when I got in from work. I think I'm handling it really well. I don't think I'm confused at all. What was my name again?

Having the same name as a 70s pop star was just the start of her troubles ...

About the Author
Jonathan Harvey comes from Liverpool and is the multi award winning writer of the play and film Beautiful Thing, the Bafta nominated sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme and Beautiful People (Best Comedy: Banff TV Festival). He was on the writing teams for both Coronation Street and Shameless. His other TV work includes Rev (Bafta, Best Sitcom), At Home With The Braithwaites, Lilies, The Catherine Tate Show and Murder Most Horrid. He has written twenty stage plays including Corrie!, Canary, Hushabye Mountain, Babies, Boom Bang A Bang and Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club. He also wrote the 2001 stage musical Closer To Heaven with the Pet Shop Boys. His theatre work has won him an Evening Standard Award, two Manchester Evening News Awards, the George Devine Award and the John Whiting Award. But perhaps most telling of all he also won the Spacehopper Championships at Butlins Pwhelli in 1976.

Reviews
I knew Jonathan Harvey could make me laugh. I didn't expect him to make me cry too. The bastard. * Jojo Moyes *
I enjoyed it HUGELY . . . It's a lovely book, Karen is a very likeable character and it's great fun, all the different plot-lines and potential twists totally had me hooked and kept me guessing, but all the same, the reveal totally blind-sided me. I really wasn't expecting it! . . . I take my hat off to you, it's a total page-turner, very entertaining, then very moving. * Marian Keyes *
Light-hearted and funny, but with a twist that will have you hooked. * Heat *
High-wattage witticisms and irresistible energy - a tonic. * Daily Mail *
A choke-on-your-popcorn funny account of a special needs teacher . . . Despite the regular sniggers, the novel also has a serious side, tackling complex themes such as depression . . . Jonathan Harvey does a great job of writing from a woman's point of view. * Stylist *
Hilarious and compassionate all at the same time, you'll laugh and cry. * Look *



Book Information
ISBN 9780330544399
Author Jonathan Harvey
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Pan Books
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 435g
Dimensions(mm) 203mm * 127mm * 23mm