Coming of age in rural England in the 1980s is far from straightforward for Kate Happy, in this hilarious, highly-praised debut novel of family, secrets, and dead ancestors in the attic. Gran has been homesick for Coney Island for 38 years, hating her husband but determinedly donning her best pink Chanel suit and high heels to step out into the muck-splattered farmyard. Grandpa is bonkers, an ex-naval Captain who wanders round the house shouting sea-faring commands. Mum's gone AWOL since she ran over Kate's dad in her soft-top Triumph Spitfire. And are those really Dad's ashes in a Hellmann's mayonnaise jar in the attic? Crackling with the darkest of dark humor, brimming with crazy ancestors and closely guarded secrets, this wonderful first novel confirms Tiffany Murray as a rising star of British fiction.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Witty, romantic and irreverent! Inventive, funny and affecting, this is a story that is powerful without being mawkish.' Daily Mail 'Along with her whip-cracking dialogue, it is quirky images that are Murray's forte ! throwing the freewheeeling antics of the Happys into hilarious relief.' The Observer 'Murray manages to counterpoint beautifully the loveless, the perverse and even the wicked with all that is tender and true in human relationships.' Zoe Strimpel, Time Out 'Woody Allen visits Cold Comfort Farm.' Boyd Tonkin, Independent
About the Author
A graduate of UEA's MA fiction program, Tiffany Murray has had short fiction appear in Pretext and Mslexia, as well as a series of first-person articles published in The Independent on Sunday. She has lived in New York, where she taught Caribbean literature at NYU; she was an actress for a second; and she is now completing her PhD. at UEA, where she teaches creative writing with Paul Magrs, Michele Roberts and Patricia Duncker. Tiffany is co-editing Pretext 8 with Helon Habila.
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More About the Author
Tiffany's first novel, Happy Accidents (4th Estate) and her second, Diamond Star Halo (Portobello Books) were both short-listed for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Award. Tiffany's writing has appeared in The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent and The Guardian. She is Senior Lecturer at The University of Glamorgan.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Refreshingly Unique & Witty Novel,
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This review is from: Happy Accidents (Paperback)
This witty novel, with a unique voice and characters had me laughing out loud from the first page. The author evokes the spirit of her characters, with blatancy and biting humor. I highly recommend.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Read,
By
This review is from: Happy Accidents (Paperback)
A fantastic and funny book. Kate Happy's story, part Jane Eyre and part Paper Moon really did make me laugh out loud and then cry. A lovely read. The critics must be right. I'd thoroughly advise reading it.
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