The Man in the Moon — Andrew Barrow

Are all aspiring stand-up comics as tragic as Baby Reindeer? If William is anything to go by, the answer is possibly ‘yes'. Nostalgic, razor-sharp and deliciously peculiar, this is a weird but wonderful comedy of manners by the award-winning author of The Tap Dancer.

William is a lonely young man on the loose in the late 1960s. A disastrous appearance as a stand-up comic in a pub called The Man In the Moon is only the start of his adventures, in which he consorts with theatrical types, frenzied advertising men and accident-prone lodgers.

William's exploits lead him eventually to the consulting rooms of a Harley Street psychiatrist, where his delusions that he is a comic genius can finally be laid bare.

Andrew Barrow's second â€" and so far last â€" novel, first published in 1996, is a hilariously bittersweet comedy that follows in the footsteps of last year's sensational reissue of The Tap Dancer, which drew praise from Alan Bennett (‘my favourite novel'), Craig Brown (‘sublime comedy') and India Knight (‘hilariously funny').

Reviews

‘Another splendidly surreal book from Mr Barrow's pen . . . Beautifully written, with a splendid eye for the inconsequential detail' Jennifer Paterson, Spectator

‘The Man in the Moon cuts a ripping tear through the elaborations of the current English tragi-comic novel' Iain Finlayson, Financial Times

‘A splendid straight-faced comedy, not to be missed' Penelope Fitzgerald, Evening Standard

‘Andrew Barrow's deadpan wit and extraordinary ear for dialogue turn this short novel into a comic masterpiece' Selina Hastings, Sunday Telegraph

‘Possibly the most misanthropic novel I've read since Gulliver's Travels' Lucy Atkins, Guardian

‘The late flowering of Andrew Barrow as a comic genius has been one of the most refreshing events of modern fiction . . . Full of insight into our failure to connect, the book is sad, funny, even haunting' Hugh Massingberd, Oldie

‘Barrow does not just observe â€" where the bias is visual â€" he also successfully captures registers of speech . . . A single word, looking no more than utilitarian, often evokes a whole personality' Hal Jensen, Times Literary Supplement

‘The Man in the Moon is not only an extraordinary display of what the huge ears and dissecting blade of Mr Barrow can do when they are loosed upon the unconnected babble of those upon whom he eavesdrops, it is also a brilliant, hilarious and highly disturbing testament to what careless talk reveals . . . Imagine The Waste Land written by Harold Pinter' Alan Coren, Spectator

About the author

Andrew Barrow (b.1945) is a writer and journalist, a regularly contributor to the pages of the Independent, the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator. He is the author of two novels, The Tap Dancer and The Man in the Moon, and the double biography, Quentin and Philip, published by Picador. He lives in London.