Hopeless Life of Charlie Summers

Product Description A modern A TALE OF TWO CITIES by the bestselling author of SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN. Hector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, has left the army and is slightly at a loss as to what to do next, when he is approached by an old army pal, Bilbo Mountwilliam. Bilbo runs an investment fund company and business is booming. Bilbo persuades Eck to join the company as a 'greeter' for moneyed clients. All Eck has to do is supply the contacts with entertainment and large G&Ts and then the fund managers will do the rest. Soon Eck is able to buy himself a luxury sports car and decadent flat. It is on a golfing trip to France that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepreneur whose latest scheme is to import Japanese dog food into the UK. Soon Charlie lands on Eck's doorstep with his suitcase, intent on staying and relaunching his dog food business in the area. But with the financial crash looming, Eck begins to ask himself if they are so very different... Review 'Torday is one of the most original voices in modern fiction' LONDON METRO 'This hugely likeable book subtly highlights the surprising parallells between obvious con men and the rest of us who just want to make a fast buck.' -- Elizabeth Buchan SUNDAY TIMES 'A lively credit crunch satire...This debonair and elegantly written farce borrows from Wodehouse and Sharpe.' -- Emma Hagestadt INDEPENDENT 'A humorous and nuanced read' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST, Ireland 'Dog food, stately homes, gullible rich widows and a hostage crisis all combine a tragicomical contemporary morality tale packed with wit, pathos and sharp class observation.' -- Wendy Holden DAILY MAIL 'Poignant, funny, brilliantly-crafted, an outstanding story for our time.' TELEGRAPH & ARGUS Book Description A modern A TALE OF TWO CITIES by the bestselling author of SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN. From the Back Cover Hector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, spends his days charming his wealthy contacts with large gin and tonics at Ascot or Wimbledon. He is a 'greeter' for an investment fund and it seems everyone has money to invest. It is on a golfing trip to France that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepeneur who is hiding out in France after a misunderstanding with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Despite their different backgrounds Charlie and his dodgy schemes reappear in Eck's life with surprising regularity. And when, with almost no warning, Eck's world is turned upside down he has to ask himself, between he and Charlie, who has the most to lose? 'Charlie is a wonderful creation, at once sad and heroic, whose search for redemption attains real pthos at the end of this affecting, skilfully crafted novel' FINANCIAL TIMES About the Author Paul Torday burst on to the literary scene in 2007 with his first novel, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, an immediate international bestseller that has been translated into 28 languages and has been made into a film starring Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas and Emily Blunt. His subsequent novels, THE IRRESISTIBLE INHERITANCE OF WILBERFORCE, THE GIRL ON THE LANDING, THE HOPELESS LIFE OF CHARLIE SUMMERS, MORE THAN YOU CAN SAY, THE LEGACY OF HARTLEPOOL HALL and LIGHT SHINING IN THE FOREST, were all published to great critical acclaim. He was married with two sons by a previous marriage, had two stepsons, and lived close to the River North Tyne. He died at home in December 2013.