Dealing - among many other things - with friendship, love, war, three cultures and three families over three generations, one brown mouse, and the tricky way the past has of coming back and biting you on the ankle, this book is written with a passion for ideas, for language and for the rich tragic-comedy of life.

An unforgettable portrait of London and one of the most talked about debuts of all time!

'The almost preposterous talent was clear from the first pages' Guardian

On New Years Day 1975, the day of his almost-suicide, life said yes to Archie Jones. Not OK or 'You-might-as-well-carry-on-since-you've-started'. A resounding affirmative.

Promptly seizing his second life by the horns, Archie meets and marries Clara Bowden, a Caribbean girl twenty-eight years his junior.

Thus begins a tale of friendship, of love and war, of three culture and three families over three generations . . .

*****

'Street-smart and learned, sassy and philosophical all at the same time' New York Times

'Outstanding' Sunday Telegraph

'An astonishingly assured début, funny and serious . . . I was delighted' Salman Rushdie