From Publishers Weekly
Barrowcliffe's third novel (Infidelity for First-Time Fathers) is another exercise in deadpan drollery with a hapless everyman at its center-but an ambitious strain of fantasy sets it apart, bringing him out of Nick Hornby's shadow and into John Irving territory. The hero this time out is thirtysomething single Dave Barker, who narrates. Emotionally stunted Dave has spent the last decade caring for his terminally ill mother and marking time at his failing real estate office with tart assistant Lucy. When mom dies, Dave thinks his adult life might finally begin, and that he might even take the next step, with Lyndsey, his girlfriend of four years. But then Gilbert and Reg walk into Dave's office-man and dog, respectively. Gilbert and has a heart attack, and Dave inherits Reg who, it turns out, has the gift of speech, but can only be understood by Dave; others hear it as excessive barking. Lyndsey, needless to say, is not enamored of Reg, and the quest to unload him leads Dave to a talking cat named Michael, his pig sidekick who also talks (but more tersely) and temporary wealth via a lucrative poker game. More comic complications follow, including an accidental killing, a hilarious funeral and a sticky real estate scam. Barrowcliffe's winning style and light comic touch make this a twisty page-turner of a different breed.
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From Booklist
In the spirit of Nick Hornby's bestseller
High Fidelity (1996), Barrowcliffe's debut novel is a funny but dark look inside the hearts of modern men. Harry and Gerrard, two yuppies in their young thirties, share a messy flat in London. They exist in typical single lad fashion, in that they haven't let maturity get in the way of their endless beer drinking and girl-watching. And they are cynical about women. After the apparent suicide of a drinking buddy, however, they find themselves vying for the affections of the mysterious woman who drove him to his grave. It's no friendly competition: From the start, the two friends are plotting against each other with cutthroat fervor, a harrowing path that, at different points, takes one to jail and leads the other to homicidal behavior. Alice, the worthwhile goal of their rough-and-tumble game, is beautiful, successful, witty, and always about 10 steps ahead of her suitors. Barrowcliffe's story is genuinely suspenseful, even though his clever narrator undercuts the tension with nonstop asides, backgrounders, anecdotes, and philosophy. Lucky thing he's funny.
James KliseCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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