A skilfully crafted novel with a subtle blend of humour, pathos, and wit.
The Hopeless Life of Charlie Summers, by Paul Torday
HECTOR – or Eck as he is known to his friends – has just left the army and is looking for something to do.
He gets a job as a” greeter” for an investment fund company.
His job is to keep the company’s moneyed clients supplied with entertainment and large G&Ts.
This peaceful, if unusual, existence is all changed when he goes on a golfing holiday to France.
There he meets Charlie who is, to put it bluntly, a fly-by-night entrepreneur. One of Charlie’s dodgy schemes is to import Japanese dog food into the UK.
He turns up on Eck’s doorstep hoping to launch his scheme in the area. Eck has to ask himself who has the most to lose: him or Charlie. And just to add to the fun, the financial crisis is looming.
This is a skilfully crafted novel, from the author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, with memorable characterisation and a subtle blend of humour, pathos, and wit.
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