Centre stage in Angela Carter's unruly tale of the Flower Power Generation is Joseph - a decadent, disorientated rebel without a cause. A self-styled nihilist whose girlfriend has abandoned him, Joseph has decided to give up existing. But his concerned friends and neighbours have other plans. In an effort to join in the spirit of protest which motivates his contemporaries, Joseph frees a badger from the local zoo; sends a turd airmail to the President of the United States; falls in love with the mother of his best friend; and, accompanied by the strains of an old man's violin, celebrates Christmas Eve in a bewildering state of sexual discovery. But has he found the Meaning of Life?

VIRAGO EDITION:
Centre stage in Angela Carter's exuberant, unruly theatre of the imagination is the decadent, disorientated youth, Joseph, a twenty-two year old self-styled nihilist in search of life's meaning. He is watched over by his best friend, Viv, the working-class dandy who loves good clothes and his mum; and Annie, his strangely enigmatic new neighbour who bears gifts of flowers and casseroles. The '60s are swinging and the beat of youth pulses with strange and strong passions. Joseph feels compelled to free a badger from the local zoo; sends a turd, airmail, to the President of America; and, accompanied by the strains of an old man's violin, celebrates New Year's Eve in a bewildering state of sexual discovery at an extraordinary revel - part Alice in Wonderland, part Dionysian.
Out of print for several years, Several Perceptions was the winner of the Somerset Maugham Award when first published in 1968.