Tropic Of Ruislip [Import] [Paperback]

Leslie Thomas (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pan Books; First Thus edition (1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330247212
• ISBN-13: 978-0330247214
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,072,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tribute to Flat-Roof Man, March 4, 2003

By 

D. Mikels "It's always Happy Hour here" (Skunk Holler) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tropic of Ruislip (Hardcover)

Suburbia. Quiet neighborhoods. Neat, well-kept middle class houses. A friendly chat with a neighbor, a casual gathering at the pub. A place of quiet satisfaction--a place to rest and relax after a busy day of work in the angry city. Ah, Suburbia.

Leslie Thomas reveals a little tarnish on this shining image through his hilarious novel, TROPIC OF RUISLIP. While Plummers Park Estate, a sprawling London suburb, may look peaceful and serene to the casual eye, it is anything but to its hurried, worried, self-indulged inhabitants. Under the sea of flat-roofed houses, there is marital strife, discord, envy, infidelity, insanity, and a host of other dysfunctions. Plummers Park has it all: dogs chasing and mauling the local taxidermist, an onion salesman peddling more than his wares to bored housewifes, sexual trysts in the most unusual places, eccentric artists--even a flasher.

Andrew Maiby, a reporter for a local weekly newspaper, is indicative of "Flat-Roof Man." He has a wife and daughter, a steady job and good friends, and an itch that he simply cannot scratch. Middle age is approaching, and Andrew is restless. And bored--bored with the foolish hypocrisy that is Plummers Park. Unexpectedly--quite out of the blue--something happens to Andrew to break up the monotony of his life. The subsequent results are hysterical.

Thomas is a master at writing comic dialogue; his pacing, his timing, are flawless. The reader will be laughing out loud as he or she busily turns the pages of this little gem. TROPIC OF RUISLIP is enthusiastically recommended.