A Small Omnibus — Jerry Raine

'A Small Omnibus' contains Jerry Raine's two highly acclaimed Chris Small novels 'Smalltime' and 'Small Change'. Chris Small is an average man, working in London off-licences without much hope or ambition in his life. In the first book Chris is mugged while taking the day's takings to the night safe, and gets into even more trouble when he tries to find out who the perpetrator was. In the second book Chris meets a young woman called Edie while on the train to work, and she persuades him to join her blackjack card counting team to outwit the casinos of central London. In both books Chris is sidetracked by the attentions of several women, which at least enlivens his usual mundane existence. Compared to the novels of British social realist Bill Naughton, Raine takes you into a small world where characters dream big to try and elevate their humdrum day-to-day lives. PRAISE FOR ‘SMALLTIME'. ‘The real find is Smalltime, a quietly jolting first novel that offers an unsparing look at some sullen hoods and their dead-end lives in an economically depressed London suburb.' NEW YORK TIMES. ‘Begs comparison with such diverse social realists as Bill Naughton and George Orwell. The first British contemporary crime novel featuring an underclass which no one wants to acknowledge. Absolutely authentic and quite possibly important.' LITERARY REVIEW. ‘In Hollywood parlance, Smalltime is Trainspotting's Irvine Welsh meets Stanley Kubrick (circa The Killing). A book to read slowly and savour.' INTERZONE. ‘Like the Dustin Hoffman film Straight Time, Raine's novel establishes the humanity of its characters by sharing the often pathetic details of their daily lives. There is no preaching here, no using crime as the stuff of adventure, instead, there is only gritty, grey, suffocating reality.' BOOKLIST. ‘You don't often get this kind of mystery since Patricia Highsmith died. Not so much a whodunit, more a how to get mired in it.' CRIME TIME. PRAISE FOR ‘SMALL CHANGE.' ‘Raine's utterly unsentimental slice of blighted lives in lower-middle-class suburban London blends the sensibility of 1930s proletarian fiction with the noir mood of a contemporary crime novel â€" George Orwell with a dose of John Harvey.' BOOKLIST. ‘Hunt this one out, it's worth the bother.' THE INDEPENDENT. 'The component parts of millennial angst ruefully and precisely rendered. A perfect package for the time capsule.' LITERARY REVIEW. ‘Like a blast of fresh air into a murky card-shark's den, Raine's follow up to Smalltime is a compelling book you'll be glad you splashed out on.' FHM. ‘Weirdly compelling in its low key way, something to clear your literary palate if you are suffering a surfeit of cops, psychos and terrorists.' SHOTS MAGAZINE. ‘Small Change excels at evoking the small crimes and epiphanies of the small-time criminal. The subtle touches of plotting and credible characters carry the reader along a fascinating journey.' THE GUARDIAN.