Abe Stone is a 61-year-old alcoholic with a Henry VIII fixation going through his third divorce. When he starts receiving letters from his dead mother, Evelyn, he is thrown into a late-stage identity crisis. His fourteen-year old grand-daughter, Lucille, is expelled from school and the unlikely couple embark on a quest to work out what Evelyn is trying to impart and how Abe can begin to put his dishevelled life in order.
'A fine debut novel: highly readable and hinting at even better to come.' The Herald
'[A] superb debut novel ... Like the best tragi-comedies, it is written with a pin-sharp sense of character, isn't afraid to take swings at the deepest subjects and can spin between the two modes at will.' Scotsman
- ISBN10 0571226280
- ISBN13 9780571226283
- Publish Date 3 August 2006 (first published 7 July 2005)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 30 April 2024
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Faber & Faber
- Edition Main
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 288
- Language English