Care of Wooden Floors
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- 6,99 €
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- 6,99 €
Publisher Description
A bold and brilliant debut from a darkly funny new voice.
Oskar is a minimalist composer best known for a piece called Variations on Tram Timetables. He is married to a Californian art dealer named Laura and he lives with two cats, named after Russian composers, in an Eastern European city.
But this book isn't really about Oskar. Oskar is in Los Angeles, having his marriage dismantled by lawyers. He has entrusted an old university friend with the task of looking after his cats, and taking care of his perfect, beautiful apartment.
Despite the fact that Oskar has left dozens of surreally detailed notes covering every aspect of looking after the flat, things do not go well.
Care of Wooden Floors is about how a tiny oversight can trip off a disastrous and farcical (fatal, even) chain of consequences. It's about a friendship between two men who don't know each other very well. It's about alienation and being alone in a foreign city. It's about the quest for perfection and the struggle against entropy. And it is, a little, about how to take care of wooden floors.
Reviews
‘A very funny novel combining schadenfreude and belly laughs. Just don’t let Wiles flat-sit for you’ Independent
‘This is a terrific first novel, written with a very engaging deadpan wit, and an understated sense of the absurd.’ Kate Saunders, The Times
‘Ingenious … his story has something in common, in terms of manic sensitivity, with Edgar Allan Poes’ The Tell-Tale Heart … a smart and polished debut’ Daily Telegraph
‘This novel acquires the queasy allure of a cliff edge, the sense of impending catastrophe becoming strangely compelling … addictive and rather clever, too’ Daily Mail
‘Funny, beguiling and quietly profound; a wonderfully well-crafted debut’ TLS
“A nicely turned satire on the notion that the path to spiritual contentment lies in a pristine set of polished wooden floorboards … Wiles has an eye for beauty, but an even more impressive eye for ugliness … a novel full of impeccably stylish writing” Guardian
‘Wiles is a talent to watch’ The Spectator
‘Dark and funny in equal measures … a debut as crisp, slick and polished as a well-cared-for wooden floor’ Scotland on Sunday
About the author
Will Wiles was born in India in 1978. He lives in London and writes about architecture and design for a variety of magazines. He is the author of three novels, including Care of Wooden Floors and The Way Inn, all published by 4th Estate. The Way Inn was shortlisted for The Encore Award and Care of Wooden Floors won a Betty Trask Award.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This darkly humorous novel from U.K. journalist Wiles involves a nameless protagonist whose eight days of house-sitting turn out to be a lot more hassle than he bargained for. A freelance copywriter in London does his old university friend, Oskar, now a classical musician, a big favor by staying in his "nice flat" located in an unspecified and dour Slavic city. Oskar is a "borderline obsessive-compulsive" who leaves very specific instructions on a number of notes posted throughout the flat, including not only the care of cats Shossy and Stravvy, but, of greater importance, that of the expensive French oak floors. Oskar, in L.A. to deal with divorcing his wife, intends to return soon to his "island of perfection." Unfortunately, the befuddled protagonist is a hapless caretaker; he lets one of Oskar's cats die (via piano lid) and, perhaps worse, he spills red wine on the floor. "Batface," the flat's bellicose cleaning lady, is no help rescuing the precious floorboard. The narrator is pleased to find that Oskar has a "human" side when he uncovers his hidden porn stash, but the maintenance of the wooden floors soon takes a horrid turn. A strikingly original debut.
