Trading Futures - Hardcover
When I was small, my mother showed me how to grow a carrot from a carrot. She filled a jam jar with water, cut the top off a carrot, ran a cocktail stick horizontally through the stub and suspended it over the jar, just touching the water. In time, roots sprouted, and when they were long enough and strong enough, the plant was translated to the garden and new carrots grew. This was one of the many exciting ways in which I was prepared for adult life.This is Matthew Oxenhay at sixty: a stranger to his wife, an embarrassment to his children, and failed former contender for the top job at his City firm. Seizing on his birthday party as an opportunity to deliver some rather crushing home truths to his assembled loved ones, it seems as though Matthew might have hit rock bottom. The truth, however, is that he has some way to go yet . . . With forensic precision and mordant wit, Matthew unpicks the threads that bind him: a comfortable home in the suburbs, a career spent trading futures and a life that bears little resemblance to the one he imagined for himself at twenty. When he unexpectedly bumps into Anna (the one who got away), the stage is set for an epic unravelling. Darkly funny, Trading Futures forces us to confront how change, like death, is an inevitable fact of life: feared by most, it can transform or overwhelm us. This is a brilliantly observed novel, for fans of works such as John Lanchester's Mr Phillips and On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.It also featured as Radio 4's Book at Bedtime.
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About the Author:
Jim Powell was born in London in 1949. He is the author of one previous novel, The Breaking of Eggs, and was named by BBC2's The Culture Show amongst '12 of The Best New Novelists' in 2011. He is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Liverpool and, with his wife Kay, divides his time between Northamptonshire, England, and the Tarn, France.
Review:
"With his gallows humour and observational wit, Jim Powell gives us a vivid portrait of a man in meltdown." —Daily Mail
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- PublisherPicador
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 1509806423
- ISBN 13 9781509806423
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages224
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Trading Futures
Published by
Picador, UK
(2016)
ISBN 10: 1509806423
ISBN 13: 9781509806423
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Hardcover
First Edition
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Hardcover. 211 pages. *** PUBLISHING DETAILS: Picador, UK, 2016. First Edition. *** CONDITION: The book itself is in new condition and comes in fine dust jacket. More specifically: Boards have no wear, rubbing or soiling. Dust jacket is in excellent condtion. . Pages are clean and unmarked and in excellent condition. *** ABOUT THIS BOOK: The brilliantly observed and very witty story of one man's unravelling, from the author of The Breaking of Eggs When I was small, my mother showed me how to grow a carrot from a carrot. She filled a jam jar with water, cut the top off a carrot, ran a cocktail stick horizontally through the stub and suspended it over the jar, just touching the water. In time, roots sprouted, and when they were long enough and strong enough, the plant was translated to the garden and new carrots grew. This was one of the many exciting ways in which I was prepared for adult life. This is Matthew Oxenhay at sixty: a stranger to his wife, an embarrassment to his children, and failed former contender for the top job at his City firm. Seizing on his birthday party as an opportunity to deliver some rather crushing home truths to his assembled loved ones, it seems as though Matthew might have hit rock bottom. The truth, however, is that he has some way to go yet. With forensic precision and mordant wit, Matthew unpicks the threads that bind him: a comfortable home in the suburbs, a career spent trading futures and a life that bears little resemblance to the one he imagined for himself at twenty. When he unexpectedly bumps into Anna (the one who got away), the stage is set for an epic unravelling. Darkly funny, Trading Futures forces us to confront how change, like death, is an inevitable fact of life: feared by most, it can transform or overwhelm us. This is a brilliantly observed novel, for fans of works such as John Lanchester's Mr Phillips and On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. PRAISE FOR THE BREAKING OF EGGS "A magnificent debut novel.a haunting, quietly brilliant story.a rare and remarkable achievement: a novel that meshes storytelling potency with historical erudition." The Boston Globe "An impressive first novel.wise and witty." American Spectator *** Quantity Available: 3. Category: Literature & Literary; ISBN/EAN: 9781509806423. Inventory No: 20050219. Seller Inventory # 20050219
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