Facing the Tank
A carefully observed, comedic novel of cathedrals, clergy and genteel, country town living
Published on 18. October 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-4722-5554-9 (ISBN)
Description
Patrick Gale's early novel, FACING THE TANK is a witty, eccentric story of clergy, scandal and English eccentrics
'Made me laugh out loud' Sunday Times
American Professor Evan Kirby, author of a successful book on Hell, moves to Barrowcester in the south England expecting to find the very epitome of a cathedral society of gentle clergymen and coffee mornings.
What he encounters instead is a small city thrown into chaos by scandalous pregnancies, a Satanic summoning of a young feral girl and strange, supernatural events that threaten to rock the hitherto genteel, church going community.
'Gale speedily unleashes his merrily black mischief. The uncovering of the sadness behind the doilies and twinsets is in the best tradition of black humour' Observer
What readers have loved about FACING THE TANK:
'A brilliantly observed story, dark, humorous, sometimes subtly, sometimes uproarious' ? ? ? ? ?
'It takes as the main theme a black comedy of religious experience and small town life, and applies several hard twists to the plot. Like Trollope's Barchester, but with drugs, AIDS and miracles' ? ? ? ? ?
'Made me laugh out loud' Sunday Times
American Professor Evan Kirby, author of a successful book on Hell, moves to Barrowcester in the south England expecting to find the very epitome of a cathedral society of gentle clergymen and coffee mornings.
What he encounters instead is a small city thrown into chaos by scandalous pregnancies, a Satanic summoning of a young feral girl and strange, supernatural events that threaten to rock the hitherto genteel, church going community.
'Gale speedily unleashes his merrily black mischief. The uncovering of the sadness behind the doilies and twinsets is in the best tradition of black humour' Observer
What readers have loved about FACING THE TANK:
'A brilliantly observed story, dark, humorous, sometimes subtly, sometimes uproarious' ? ? ? ? ?
'It takes as the main theme a black comedy of religious experience and small town life, and applies several hard twists to the plot. Like Trollope's Barchester, but with drugs, AIDS and miracles' ? ? ? ? ?
Reviews / Votes
Gale speedily unleashes his merrily black mischief. The uncovering of the sadness behind the doilies and twinsets is in the best tradition of black humour * Observer * Gale is intoxicated with words and feeds upon them with a kind of manic relish . . . The sheer funniness of Facing the Tank made me laugh out loud. Its optimism delighted me * Sunday Times * Original and amusing. An elegant, witty writer with an engagingly bizarre imagination * Sunday Telegraph * A commendably intelligent, entertaining and moving novel * TLS *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Headline Publishing Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 199 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
280 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4722-5554-9 (9781472255549)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Patrick Gale
Facing the Tank
A carefully observed, comedic novel of cathedrals, clergy and genteel, country town living
E-Book
01/2018
1st Edition
Tinder Press
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester before going to Oxford University. He now lives on a farm near Land's End. One of this country's best-loved novelists, his most recent works are A Perfectly Good Man, the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes From An Exhibition, the Costa-shortlisted A Place Called Winter and Mother's Boy. His original BBC television drama, Man In An Orange Shirt, was shown to great acclaim in 2017 as part of the BBC's Queer Britannia series, leading viewers around the world to discover his novels.