The Satsuma Complex

Product Information

In a year when laughing out loud and seeing the comical side of life seems more important than ever before, the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction 2023 has been awarded to Bob Mortimer for his funny and clever debut novel The Satsuma Complex. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration

Main character Sally, a woman who gleefully rediscovers her can-do attitude when all the unnecessary peripherals start to fall away. As in his television work, Mortimer conveys an infectious joy in his own oddity, and, as his recent bestselling memoir And Away… showed, there’s a sweetness to his worldview that makes his writing gently poignant. And although I can’t imagine non-fans emerging anything other than baffled, those who are used to his brand of weirdness will find that the book works well as a thriller, too. Like Spike Milligan, the only vintage comic whose fiction is still read, Mortimer has managed to use a novel as a vehicle for his distinctive comedic voice.Peter Florence, Chair of the Judges, commented: “He approaches the world with a sly, mischievous smile. I guess this is what happens when you turn a brilliant, oblique comedic attention to life. The language and the tonetip your perception all the time, and he has this strange ability to keep the reader on the very brink of guffawing for whole chapters at a time. You get to love all these characters, the good ones and the bad ones and the very bad ones. And you’ll start talking to squirrels. And then you’ll have to think around what that’s achieving for you.”

Plot A fiftysomething woman is devastated when her partner is diagnosed with dementia and his children turf her out of the home they shared. Her partner was insistent that the house should never be sold. But why? Graham Norton, now an established author in addition to his TV and radio career, finds out.I am a huge Bob Mortimer fan and have been since the heady days of Shooting Stars. I love listening to his tales on Would I Lie To You; enjoy watching him buffoon about on Gone Fishing and gurgle with delight at his impressions on Athletico Mince. I thoroughly enjoyed his auto-biography ...And Away and felt the same kind of joy I get when I hear his fantastic (and often true) tales. Kingsolver’s novel is more serious and fatalistic than its 170-year-old predecessor – as Demon says, ‘A kid born to the junkie is a junkie’. But in updating it, she makes a great case for popular fiction’s enduring ability to shine a light on the kind of people we are. (BE)