A Piece of the Sky is Missing — David Nobbs

David Nobbs' classic is now available as an ebook .

Why should up-and-coming, thirty-two-year-old executive Robert Bellamy get himself the sack? What made him draw a caricature of the Exports Manager on the wall of the non-executive gents? Why is he his own worst enemy?

Is it because he nearly ran away from boarding school on his third day or because, when he was fourteen, his mother developed a fatal friendship for a man who looked like Hitler? Does his sense of inadequacy stem from his once being mistaken for a draft of 350 men? Or from his failure long ago to do justice to the facilities at Mme Antoinette's Maison d'Amitié (Paris branch)? Has he been too slow with Sonia, too fast with Frances?

Whatever the reason, one act of brinkmanship seems to lead to another. Robert finds himself involved in a series of embarrassing farewells and confusing interviews and open and shut court case as he drifts towards the prospect of a stiflingly happy Christmas and an intolerably cheerful New Year.

Reviews

Praise for David Nobbs's novels:

'Painfully hilarious, wonderfully observed and slight sour at the same time' Guardian

'Thank goodness for David Nobbs! He carries on the comic tradition of P G Wodehouse with this marvellous new book; a sweet and touching love story written with his trademark sly and subversive humour. A perfect antidote to these dark times' Joanne Harris

'Probably our finest post-war comic novelist' Jonathan Coe

'A delicious entertainment, as comic and sharp as they come' Guardian

'A marvellously comic novel' Sunday Times

'One of the most noisily funny books I have ever read' Michael Palin

'Very funny sketches of provincial newspaper life' Sue Townsend

'The most satisfying novel I have read in years' Express

About the author

David Nobbs's first break as a comedy writer came on the iconic satire show That Was The Week, That Was, hosted by David Frost. Later he wrote for The Frost Report and The Two Ronnies and provided material for many top comedians including Les Dawson, Ken Dodd, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howerd and Dick Emery. Apart from his twenty novels, David is best known for his two TV hit series A Bit of a Do and for The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. David Nobbs died in 2015 at the age of eighty.