Man in the Moon

Andrew Barrow (b.1945) is a writer and journalist, a regularly contributor to the pages of the Independent, the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator. He is the author of two novels, The Tap Dancer and The Man in the Moon, and the double biography, Quentin and Philip, published by Picador. He lives in London.

‘Another splendidly surreal book from Mr Barrow’s pen . . . Beautifully written, with a splendid eye for the inconsequential detail’ Jennifer Paterson, Spectator‘The Man in the Moon cuts a ripping tear through the elaborations of the current English tragi-comic novel’ Iain Finlayson, Financial Times‘A splendid straight-faced comedy, not to be missed’ Penelope Fitzgerald, Evening Standard‘Andrew Barrow’s deadpan wit and extraordinary ear for dialogue turn this short novel into a comic masterpiece’ Selina Hastings, Sunday Telegraph‘Possibly the most misanthropic novel I’ve read since Gulliver’s Travels’ Lucy Atkins, Guardian‘The late flowering of Andrew Barrow as a comic genius has been one of the most refreshing events of modern fiction . . . Full of insight into our failure to connect, the book is sad, funny, even haunting’ Hugh Massingberd, Oldie‘Barrow does not just observe – where the bias is visual – he also successfully captures registers of speech . . . A single word, looking no more than utilitarian, often evokes a whole personality’ Hal Jensen, Times Literary Supplement‘The Man in the Moon is not only an extraordinary display of what the huge ears and dissecting blade of Mr Barrow can do when they are loosed upon the unconnected babble of those upon whom he eavesdrops, it is also a brilliant, hilarious and highly disturbing testament to what careless talk reveals . . . Imagine The Waste Land written by Harold Pinter’ Alan Coren, Spectator