Book description
A bold and brilliant debut from a darkly funny new voice.
Oskar is a minimalist composer best known for a piece called Variations
on Tram Timetables. He is married to a Californian art dealer named
Laura and he lives with two cats, named after Russian composers, in an
Eastern European city.
But this book isn't really about Oskar. Oskar is in Los Angeles, having
his marriage dismantled by lawyers. He has entrusted an old university
friend with the task of looking after his cats, and taking care of his
perfect, beautiful apartment.
Despite the fact that Oskar has left dozens of surreally detailed notes
covering every aspect of looking after the flat, things do not go well.
Care of Wooden Floors is about how a tiny oversight can trip off a
disastrous and farcical (fatal, even) chain of consequences. It's about
a friendship between two men who don't know each other very well. It's
about alienation and being alone in a foreign city. It's about the quest
for perfection and the struggle against entropy. And it is, a little,
about how to take care of wooden floors. 'A very funny novel combining
schadenfreude and belly laughs. Just don't let Wiles flat-sit for you' Independent
'This is a terrific first novel, written with a very engaging deadpan
wit, and an understated sense of the absurd.' Kate Saunders, The Times
'Ingenious … his story has something in common, in terms of manic
sensitivity, with Edgar Allan Poes' The Tell-Tale Heart … a smart and
polished debut' Daily Telegraph
'This novel acquires the queasy allure of a cliff edge, the sense of
impending catastrophe becoming strangely compelling … addictive and
rather clever, too' Daily Mail
'Funny, beguiling and quietly profound; a wonderfully well-crafted
debut' TLS
“A nicely turned satire on the notion that the path to spiritual
contentment lies in a pristine set of polished wooden floorboards …
Wiles has an eye for beauty, but an even more impressive eye for
ugliness … a novel full of impeccably stylish writing” Guardian
'Wiles is a talent to watch' The Spectator
'Dark and funny in equal measures … a debut as crisp, slick and
polished as a well-cared-for wooden floor' Scotland on Sunday Will
Wiles is an architecture and design journalist. He lives in London.
