A Flavour of the Book: “He forged a letter to Bob from a mythical official of his
golf club, Mr C. Lyon, threatening him with disciplinary action if he did not
call immediately to explain his drunken behaviour on the greens. An abject Bob rang the number on the
letter, and found himself on the phone to the sea-lion enclosure at London Zoo,
asking a weary keeper if he could speak to ‘Mr C. Lyon’.”
The Authortrek View:
“This is a gloriously funny book about a round-the-world cricket tour
undertaken by a team of village cricketers. Penguins Stopped Play
features a host of stars such as Griff Rhys Jones, Hugh Grant, Ian Hislop, Hugh
Dennis, and a man that likes to be called Paul Daniels (but not a lot). You don’t have to be a cricket fan to
enjoy Harry Thompson’s witty prose, and the sheer incompetence of the officials
who stand in the way of their competing (victory would be too much to ask
for). You’ll be amazed in
particular by BA’s ‘you can’t get there from here’ mentality. As well as all the laughs though, there
is the unbearably touching poignancy of the end.”
Praise for Penguins Stopped
Play: `This is a beautiful tale of classic British humour, self-deprecation,
great courage and one of the best accounts ever of the obsessive appeal of our
summer game to those whose lives revolve around it' - Daily Mail
`The
finest tome of the year by a country margin' -Daily Telegraph
`Very funny ... he fills his warm-hearted book with a satisfying selection of
tales' - The Sunday Times
`Every
cricket club needs a Harry Thompson' --Sunday Telegraph
`Delicious ... This book is the perfect tribute to his greatest
enthusiasm: a delivery which spins delicately past the straight bat of our
expectations.' -
Evening Standard
`Funny
and barmy' - Daily Express
`Funny
and inspiring ... Thompson writes with a novelist's sympathy about a
wonderfully mixed bunch of characters.'
- Literary
Review
`A
hilarious, eccentrically English memoir' - Sainsbury's Magazine
'Thompson's entertaining account is packed with humour, and will appeal
to those who don't feel the need to take their sport too seriously.' -Scotland
on Sunday
`Let's
get one thing clear from the off - I don't get cricket ... The fact that I
loved Penguins
Stopped Play can only be testament to Harry Thompson's brilliant
writing, sardonic humour and English love of farce.' -- Wanderlust
To
find out more about the author, please visit our Harry Thompson page.
If you have any more details about this book or a
review you can send it to authortrekreview@authortrek.com.
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author’s name and the book title in the subject line of your email. If you have any further
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