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Goldsboro Books

9780007140800

The Gift

The Gift

by David Flusfeder

Publisher 4th Estate

Genre:

Released:

  • Signed by the Author
  • UK First Edition
  • First Printing
  • Hardcover


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  • Book Condition & Notes

    All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

About the book

Philip has a lot on his mind. At home, in his unnecessarily large, excessively expensive house in south London, he is attempting to become a Taoist master of love with his wife Alice, but his quest is forever being interrupted by the requests of his twin daughters: Can we have a pony please? I want to go to boarding school please? At work, in his shed/office at the bottom of the garden, between countless games of Minesweep and FreeCell, Philip is trying to pay the mortgage by writing instruction manuals for Korean bread-making machines. And, at parties where he is concerned that he is not taken seriously (he has been variously mistaken as a doctor/waiter and sinologist) Philip tells the world he is a scriptwriter, even though all he has managed to pen is a story he calls Wang the Unlucky Scholar.

But, above all, Philip is worrying about his best friends Sean and Barry. The problem is simple: they give great presents. Their gifts are exquisite: a full set of Italian crockery, a handmade corkscrew from Venice. They give them indiscriminately: on birthdays, at parties and quite often for no reason whatsoever. And, most distressingly, these presents break all bounds of generosity: two FA Cup Final tickets beside the royal box, a skiing holiday for Philip's entire family. These are gifts that hurt a man's pride, these are gifts that can never be matched.

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About the Author

David Flusfeder

David L. Flusfeder is an American-born British author, journalist, playwright, and screenwriter.


He was educated at the University of Sussex, where in 1983 he earned his BA, and the University of East Anglia, from which he received his MA in creative writing in 1988. He is currently the director of creative writing at the University of Kent, and has taught the subject at the universities of East Anglia, Brunel and Easy London, as well as at Pentonville Prison.


He lives in London with his wife and two children

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