Guy Bellamy ~~ The Mystery of Men

If you love theatrical farce…..this is the book for you. It centres around the fateful decision of a group of clubbable men to insured their individual lives with other members of the group being the beneficiaries. In this literary version of ‘men behaving badly’, there is comedic timing in the descriptions, sharp lines in the dialogue, Tom and Gerry violence that just avoids cruelty and a strong feel of Britain in the 1980s. Most had their softest spot for Vernon Jones, the failed suicide who inadvertently discovers sexual prowess. However the women are without depth and some felt there was a streak of mysogyny in this barroom tale.

 

Differences in sense of humour reflected in the scores which range from 4 to 9 with an average of 7.6.