Showbiz

Paperback Of The Day

David Sexton11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Alfie, at 34, has found love and lost her. She drowned in a diving accident. Back in north London, Alfie mopes while teaching at a language school and knocking off the impressionable young students. Meanwhile, his nan is dying and his parents' marriage is cracking.

But then he strikes up a relationship with the cleaner at the language school, a tough single mum of his own age with a heart of gold, Jackie. She gives him back his "faith". Aaah.

This extravagantly sentimental story is narrated in a style of blokish simplicity. It has been a winning formula for Parsons. His previous novel, Man and Boy, sold a million in paperback; his next, Man and Wife, is due out in September. Cheers.

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