Henry Sutton (1) (1963–)

Having actually lived in Gorleston(-on-Sea, near Gt.Yarmouth, England) for a year I can completely understand this novel. It was lonely enough as a Londoner fresh from university in my first real job, but at least I could get away at weekends. For dear old retired Percy in
this novel however, who leads a very humdrum existence, the chance to have some fun when he meets Queenie is totally irresistible! He has a whale of time, but Queenie moves on and he's left alone again to discover some show more uncomfortable new truths about his dead wife. A touching novel full of wry observations about being old from a young first-time author. show less

Interesting read. It was rather hard to make myself finish it, but I really appreciated the experience. Stylistically it was very well done. But, in the end, this idea would have been better suited to a short story. It makes me wonder if the author doesn't appreciate the the power that a short story can hold. The power of this story comes from the shock factor. This wears down as the pages go by. The story could have been significantly enhanced with a degree more subtlety which a short story show more would have required.

At the bottom, the character was just barely believable (again this could been better in a short story). The story became weaker as it went on and in the end the message was left wanting. The author clearly wanted to make a statement about the arrogance and folly of the financial industry. This is a message I was welcoming. However, the flaws in the storytelling meant that this message was lost. Instead the book read as a tale of the disintegration of one man. The broader meaning was lost because he failed to make the broader connection.

All in all, this was probably the most disappointed I've been by a book in a while. Europa Edition has consistently produced quality books. However, this must go down as one of their misses. I won't be recommending this to anyone except if they wish to see what happens when a writers tries to make a novel out of a short story (and fails). show less

A book with a great concept - cross Money with American Psycho, and set it in credit crunch London - but the execution is lacking. It's not funny enough to ape Amis, or dark enough to emulate Ellis; the characters are shallow and some of the dialogue is excruciatingly bad. However, there are a few neat observations about consumer culture and modern life in the capital that raise a smile.

This is a interesting story but I found I could not stand the main character.