VARIOUS PETS ALIVE AND DEAD

Trade paperback. Hurrah! the new comic novel from Marina Lewycka, and it has been given a brand new look to draw in a wider readership. The 3 children of a hippy couple, brought up in a left wing commune, have all turned out rather different to their parents. Clara, a primary schoolteacher craves order and clean bathrooms; Serge is pretending that he's finishing a PhD at Cambridge, when in fact he's earning a packet in the City; and their youngest, Oolie Anna, who has Downs Syndrome, is desperate to escape home and live on her own. Set half in Doncaster, half in London, this is a hugely funny riff on modern values. A limited edition hardback edition is also available.