Description
Book SynopsisA bold and confident debut novel about politics, money, and art in contemporary Britain.
Trade ReviewA
very funny, clever and keenly observed political (and social) satire -- Emma Healey * Huffington Post Books of the Year *
It's refreshing . . . Glencross is an astute, immaculately funny writer with a strong ear for the present moment. Elegantly witty sentences flow from his pen like wine from a bottle. He is particularly good at skewering the often gaping chasm between people's public and private selves * Claire Allfree, Metro *
An engaging debut * Sunday Times *
Tim Glencross has set his sights high in this debut. Replete with references to
Middlemarch,
Can You Forgive Her? and other all-embracing novels of Victorian society,
Barbarians aims to take the temperature of the times, using a group of Oxbridge graduates clustered around Labour's Islington set as its gauge. Along the way there are references to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, namechecks for Melvyn Bragg and Ian McEwan, visits to Brixton, a Soho club and a north London luvvie party, off-the-page reports from
Private Eye and the
Daily Telegraph, and a walk-on part for Tony Blair . . . Far from being mere ciphers, Afua and her friends are given sufficient spark to make them live on the page . . . The satire, meanwhile, is subtle enough to be compelling, and the references glancing enough not to grate . . .
An engaging and often impressive debut . . . Glencross feels like a writer to watch * Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times *
Entertaining, with a rich array of snobs and halfwits * Independent *
This is a clever, amusing and well written debut novel by someone who has great fun at the expense of the so-called elite classes * Daily Mail *
Glencross's first novel is a lively and easy read * Observer *
A dazzling debut * The Times *
Hurrah for the novel as entertainment . . . A diverting examination of twentysomething Cambridge graduates finding their feet among London's political and cultural elite . . . Sincere and well put together: it's an enjoyably old-fashioned novel that grasps something real about the way we live now * Guardian *
Glencross is a ripping writer, perfectly weaving his discrete storylines one into the other, creating believable ambitions and outcomes, and pacing events with aplomb. We'll definitely be looking out for his next effort * Herald *
A droll survey of the past few years of British political life * Literary Review *
