Politics(2003)

Adam Thirlwell

Politics tells the story of a father and daughter. It also tells the story of a m-nage - trois. Politics explores crucial domestic problems of sexual etiquette. What should sleeping arrangements be in a menage - trois? Is it polite to read while two people have sex beside you? Is it permissible to be jealous? If you have eczema, may you complain that undinism can be painful? Politics is a comedy about kindness. And, at the same time, it is also about Milan Kundera, blow jobs, Chairman Mao's personal hygiene, V-clav Havel, half-Jewishness, Bollywood, shopping, Hitler's sexual fetish, selfishness, Osip Mandelstam, premature ejaculation, the late Queen Mother, thrush, Stalin on the phone, politeness, pink fluffy handcuffs, and Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony. Politics is not about politics. --'One of the funniest, most stylish and utterly original debuts in recent years' The Times --'The year's most controversial debut novel-A unique achievement-A naturally gifted writer' Observer--'Thirlwell brings the clarity of an essayist such as Montaigne and the deadpan humour of Buster Keaton. He does the Granta list proud' The Times --'Politics has a flexibility and muscle that elevates [