A funny, moving and insightful novel about dysfunctional families and our disaffected hero's attempts to cope with the possibility of paternity.

Clyde Carmichael is an underachieving teacher at a posh adult education centre. Obsessed by his ex, Gordon, and devouring biographies, in search of a design for living, Clyde spends much of his time avoiding his family. He is close to becoming as idle as his room mate, Marcus, who is in his tenth year completing his dissertation and on his umpteenth doomed relationship.

This aimlessness is disturbed by the arrival of Louise Morris with a son, Ben, and a neurotic dog. Louise is a peripatetic writer, Clyde's old friend and Marcus's onetime lover. The question of Ben's paternity turns up the heat and heralds an anxious, affectionate and humorous insight into the ties that bind - and sometimes strangle - families and friends.

In February 1996 McCauley was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

About the Author

Author of two acclaimed previous novels The Object of My Affection and The Easy Way Out. The author lives in Cambridge, Massachussets. In February 1996 he received the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture.

Book Information
ISBN 9781857027020
Author Stephen McCauley
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint 4th Estate
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 230g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 17mm