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The Hopeless Life Of Charlie Summers by Paul Torday

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The Hopeless Life Of Charlie Summers

Author
Paul Torday
Narrator
Simon J. Williamson
Publisher
Orion
Publish Date
25 July 2013
Run Time
9 hours
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Humorous fiction
$13.95

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What to expect

Hector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, has left the army and is slightly at a loss as to what to do next, when he is approached by an old army pal, Bilbo Mountwilliam. Bilbo runs an investment fund company and business is booming. Bilbo persuades Eck to join the company as a 'greeter' for moneyed clients. All Eck has to do is supply the contacts with entertainment and large G&Ts and then the fund managers will do the rest.

Soon Eck is able to buy himself a luxury sports car and decadent flat. It is on a golfing trip to France that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepreneur whose latest scheme is to import Japanese dog food into the UK.

Soon Charlie lands on Eck's doorstep with his suitcase, intent on staying and relaunching his dog food business in the area. But with the financial crash looming, Eck begins to ask himself if they are so very different...

Read by Simon J. Williamson. Simon's roles on stage include Charlie Bell in FRED KARNO'S ARMY (Bristol Old Vic), Sagredo in Brecht's LIFE OF GALILEO (Young Vic) and Donalbain in MACBETH (Leicester Haymarket/The People Show). Series television includes THE BILL, CASUALTY, LONDON'S BURNING and WAITING FOR GOD. In film he played Max Rebo in RETURN OF THE JEDI, Ursol in Jim Henson's DARK CRYSTAL, and was a puppeteer in three MUPPET movies. Audiobook work includes the BROTHER CADFAEL series, Adam Hall's QUILLER BALALAIKA and James Fox's WHITE MISCHIEF.

(p) 2013 Orion Publishing Group

Critics Review

  • One of the most outstanding authors to have emerged in recent years

    DAILY EXPRESS

  • Brilliantly and sympathetically drawn...this wonderfully written, clever book does not miss a single trick

    DAILY MAIL

  • Funny, touching and ultimately surprising

    SCOTSMAN

  • Charlie is a wonderful creation, at once sad and heroic, whose search for redemption attains real pathos at the end of this affecting, skilfully crafted novel

    FINANCIAL TIMES

See more reviews
  • Torday is master of blending satire with gentle humanity

    PSYCHOLOGIES

  • Shades of both Greene and Ambler here, both in the crispness of the exposition and the marrying of humour with something close to tragedy

    SPECTATOR

  • A beautifully told tale - we loved it!

    BELLA

  • A brilliant, page-turning read that combines the pace of Torday's THE GIRL ON THE LANDING with his trademark humour in SALMON FISHING

    GRANTA

  • A fine tale. Even the worst of us, according to this novel, can find redemption

    DAILY EXPRESS

  • His quietly compassionate portrait of Charlie has powerful echoes off Dickens's Sydney Carton in A TALE OF TWO CITIES

    METRO

  • The SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN author is now achieving 'must-read' status. You're in for an Eck of a good time

    NEWS OF THE WORLD

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Details
Author
Paul Torday
Narrator
Simon J. Williamson
Duration
9 hours
Release Date
25 July 2013
ISBN
9781409149538
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Orion
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Humorous fiction

Synopsis

Hector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, has left the army and is slightly at a loss as to what to do next, when he is approached by an old army pal, Bilbo Mountwilliam. Bilbo runs an investment fund company and business is booming. Bilbo persuades Eck to join the company as a 'greeter' for moneyed clients. All Eck has to do is supply the contacts with entertainment and large G&Ts and then the fund managers will do the rest.Soon Eck is able to buy himself a luxury sports car and decadent flat. It is on a golfing trip to France that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepreneur whose latest scheme is to import Japanese dog food into the UK.Soon Charlie lands on Eck's doorstep with his suitcase, intent on staying and relaunching his dog food business in the area. But with the financial crash looming, Eck begins to ask himself if they are so very different...Read by Simon J. Williamson. Simon's roles on stage include Charlie Bell in FRED KARNO'S ARMY (Bristol Old Vic), Sagredo in Brecht's LIFE OF GALILEO (Young Vic) and Donalbain in MACBETH (Leicester Haymarket/The People Show). Series television includes THE BILL, CASUALTY, LONDON'S BURNING and WAITING FOR GOD. In film he played Max Rebo in RETURN OF THE JEDI, Ursol in Jim Henson's DARK CRYSTAL, and was a puppeteer in three MUPPET movies. Audiobook work includes the BROTHER CADFAEL series, Adam Hall's QUILLER BALALAIKA and James Fox's WHITE MISCHIEF.(p) 2013 Orion Publishing Group

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