Book description
An earthquake strikes at the heart of London, its epicenter a theatre
where a lavish production of The Tempest has just opened. Thus the scene
is set for Will Eaves’s gloriously deft tragicomedy of our time. Nothing
To Be Afraid Of is both a lament for hope abandoned and innocence
betrayed, and an exquisite comic pageant of Shakespearian vitality and
compassion: an incidental theatrical history, across the twentieth
century, of the art of pretence; of patience, trust and loyalty; of
folly in youth and unforgivable old age. ‘Tender, playful and full of
beautifully observed descriptions of growing up and growing old . . .
with some terrific comic set-pieces the equal of anything in Waugh and
Wodehouse. Now that’s good writing’ Daily Telegraph ‘In the case of his
novel, Eaves has nothing to be afraid of. This deft, absorbing book more
than confirms the promise of The Oversight. Eaves is a master of the
dark arts of city fiction. He is to be read, relished and watched very
closely’ Independent ‘Nothing To Be Afraid Of provides several coups de
théâtre . . . [it] is a tragicomic tale of secrets, a drowned daughter,
infidelity and mistaken identity . . . It is so clever, so apt, so right
that you have no option but to read the novel with its built-in encore
all over again. It seems even better the second time round’ Sunday
Telegraph ‘Tender, playful and full of beautifully observed
descriptions of growing up and growing old . . . with some terrific
comic set-pieces the equal of anything in Waugh and Wodehouse. Now
that’s good writing’ Daily Telegraph Will Eaves was born in Bath in
1967 and lives in London.
The Oversight
(2001) was shortlisted for the Whitbread Best First Novel Award. He is
the Arts Editor of the Times Literary Supplement
.
