Follows on from Second from Last in the Sack Race: Henry's finished his national service and working at a provincial newspaper.

I tried to make some notes: it seems that part of the force of a fictional account is when it says something which makes you think "oh yes, I'd forgotten that, but it makes sense in the light of what's gone before" - i.e. making things in the book seem real because they're coherent. Actually I think this is particularly true of comic writing, so page 283 has:

They didn't talk during the applause, which wasn't nearly as loud as the singing. When Arnold 'Tree-Trunk' Nutley burst upon 'The Garden of Eden', proving that he couldn't sing like Frankie Vaughan, Henry and Tony resumed their discreet shouting.

page 346:

The condition of Henry Pratt, clattering northwards through the dark February evening, was as uncomfortable as could be expected...With his legs braced against the corridor wall he tried to read his vibrating copy of the Argus.

The trouble is I enjoy reading this so much it's hard to be objective and take notes.

Completed : 17-Dec-2007