
The Isle of Dogs
Daniel Davies(Author)
Serpent's Tail (Publisher)
Published on 22. May 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-85242-998-0 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
Anytown, England. Jeremy Shepherd has reached post-ambition, giving up the trappings of his London life (flash job, flash cars, even flashier girlfriends) and moved back to his home town and his parents' house. By day, he is a low-level civil servant, chained to his desk and content to idle away the hours filing and answering emails. There isn't a lot to do in a small town, but the English are very resourceful and Jeremy quickly finds a hobby that delivers lots of fresh air and exercise. By night, he prowls local car parks to indulge in altogether more challenging pursuits - anonymous sex with strangers. This is no ordinary hobby - each encounter is tinged with a definite air of danger, as police stake out each site and the cloak of anonymity brings its own risks. As the scene's night-time liaisons increasingly threaten the sensibilities of the local Daily Mail readers, things take a turn for the worse. Locals take a dislike to the illicit rendezvous and as the police step up surveillance, private pursuits risk becoming very public.
Reviews / Votes
A cool, dark, sexy nightdrive of a novel. Daniel Davies writes with the detachment and insight of a new J.G.Ballard. -- Toby Litt Daniel Davies' debut is a crisp page-turner ... a tale of sex in the surveillance society that picks up the challenge of Michel Houellebecq's novels. -- Nicholas Blincoe Humorous and cringe-worthy... Around the unusual, Houellebecqian story, Daniel Davies has created a recognisable but unflattering portrait of modern Britain with a nod to JG Ballard. -- Ruth Atkins - Bookseller's choice * The Bookseller * A cultivated meditation on society's preoccupation with celebrity, surveillance and moral panic and a brisk, cautionary tale about the perils of doing it in cars with old ladies. * Arena * Expertly handled by author Davies, shunning the more obvious sensationalist Collymore ptifalls to show glimpses of JG Ballard and Michel Houellebecq, Isle of Dogs provides an engaging and believable glimpse into another world that befits this CCTV age. * Shortlist *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
237 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85242-998-0 (9781852429980)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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Daniel Davies
The Isle of Dogs
Book
05/2009
Serpent's Tail
€29.89
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Additional editions

Daniel Davies
The Isle of Dogs
E-Book
12/2010
1st Edition
Serpent's Tail
from
€17.79
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Person
Daniel Davies was born in Sutton-Coldfield, near Birmingham, in 1973, to a Welsh father and a Polish-German mother. He studied English at Cambridge. His previous jobs include curator at the British Museum, sub-editor of medical journal The Lancet and the Evening Standard. He lived abroad for three years teaching English in Barcelona, Prague and San Sebastian.