Hector Kipling has everything to live for: he is a talented artist with loving parents, a beautiful girlfriend, dependable mates and good health. But when Kirk Church, one of his best friends, and a habitual painter of cutlery, announces that he may have a brain tumour, the prospect of a character-building bereavement, with all the attendant suffering and sympathy, is a little too difficult for Hector to resist. Will it make him a better artist? Will it make him as successful as his friend Lenny Snook, who fills limousines with blood and has just been nominated for the Turner Prize? As events begin to unravel it doesn't take long for Hector's charmed world to fall completely and irreparably apart.

From settees to stalkers, con men to corpses, paranoid self-portraits to S&M, The Late Hector Kipling is an irreverent and candid exploration of life, death, art and everything in between.

'Wonderful entertainment . . . A funny and successful satire' Observer Review

'Exquisitely written with a warm heart and a wry wit, this is a stunning debut.' Elle

'David Thewlis has written an extraordinarily good novel, which is not only brilliant in its own right, but stands proudly beside his work as an actor, no mean boast.' Billy Connolly

'I laughed and laughed until I read my own name amongst the carnage of Thewlis's unfortunate characters. This book is a disgrace - it's mean, cruel and refreshingly cynical.' Jake Chapman

'A very funny satire' David Baddiel, The Times

About the Author
David Thewlis was born in Blackpool in 1963. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and graduated in 1985. His first feature film performance was in director Mike Leigh's Life is Sweet. Since then he has appeared in films as diverse as Total Eclipse, Seven Years in Tibet and Besieged. In 1995 he wrote and directed a short film called Hello, Hello, Hello and, in 2003, Cheeky. In addition to his film and television work, Thewlis has also starred on the stage, including Sam Mendes' The Sea at the Royal National Theatre.


Book Information
ISBN 9781509822614
Author David Thewlis
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Picador
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 558g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 21mm