Review: All is fuelled by a subplot of biscuits and alcohol...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 9, 2012
ThriftThrift is a wonderfully laconic account of a failing comprehensive school teacher.The long suffering hero is patronised by his family (apart from his beloved mother), manipulated by his pupils and manipulated again by the school management team (the odious Mr Stevens is brilliantly sent up). Our hero has one true friend (the hapless Malcolm), a bizarre collection of drinking companions at the local pub and a frighteningly persistent would-be girlfriend called Angela.Phil Church delights us with his self-deprecating style of writing and his dry sense of humour. He portrays the hero's disastrous foray into the world of the private investigator, his useless direction of the school play, Hamlet, and gives an absolutely hilarious account of his brother's stag weekend.All is fuelled by a subplot of biscuits and alcohol, and as we rattle towards the cliff hanger ending, surely the reader's main thought must be - sequel please!