Search results for ""author magnus mills""

A dark, surreally funny novel from the bestselling Booker Prize-shortlisted author ‘Hilariously surreal. It's a bit like the Coen Brothers directing an Alan Bennett play... Fantastic' Daily Mirror ‘Understatedly surreal, deadpan gothic, Mills is a master of the uncanny ... Such a fresh fictional voice' Esquire It is the end of the summer. The tourists have already gone, and now the sun is abandoning the Lake District's damp valleys. Only a lone camper remains, enjoying the quiet. He plans to stay just long enough to prepare for a trip to the East. But then the owner of the campsite asks him to paint a fence and he innocently obliges. Soon other odd jobs pile up until little by little he becomes ensnared in the ominous ‘out-of-season'...

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'Tam and I took hold of Mr McCrindle and lowered him into the hole, feet first. We decided to leave his cap on'. Fencers Tam, Richie and their ever-exasperated English foreman are forced to move from rural Scotland to England for work. After a disastrous start involving a botched fence and an accidental murder, the three move to a damp caravan in Upper Bowland and soon find themselves in direct competition with the sinister Hall Brothers whose business enterprises seem to combine fencing, butchering and sausage-making. "The Restraint of Beasts" introduced readers to the now much-loved unique voice of Magnus Mills and his surreally comic world.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2016 'One of Britain's most original, inimitable writers' The Times 'The field looks completely wrong now,' she announced, one blustery afternoon. ‘It’s all gone out of balance' The Great Field lies in the bend of a broad, meandering river. Bounded on three sides by water, on the fourth side it dwindles gradually into wilderness. A handful of tents are scattered far and wide across its immensity. Their flags flutter in the warm breeze, rich with the promise of halcyon days. But more and more people are setting up camp in the lush pastures and with each new arrival life becomes a little more complicated. And when a large and disciplined group arrive from across the river emotions run so high that even a surplus of milk pudding can’t soothe ruffled feathers. Change is coming; change that threatens the delicate balance of power in the Great Field. This simultaneously down to earth and surreal fable cements Magnus Mills’ status as one of Britain’s most original novelists.

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'The Forensic Records Society is like Animal Farm but with blokes for pigs, and much better songs' Guardian Two men with a passion for vinyl create a society for the appreciation of records. Their aim is simple: to elevate the art of listening by doing so in forensic detail. The society enjoys moderate success in the back room of their local pub, The Half Moon, with other enthusiasts drawn to the initial promise of the weekly gathering. However, as the club gains popularity, its founder’s uncompromising dogma results in a schism within the movement and soon a counter group forms. Then the arrival of a young woman called Alice further fractures the unity of the vulnerable society. As rifts are forged and gulfs widen, Magnus Mills examines the surreal nature of ordinary lives. The master of the comic deadpan returns for his ninth novel, a spectacularly disingenuous exploration of power, fanaticism and really, really good records.

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