Please Do Not Disturb

In the vein of William Boyd, Graham Greene and Giles Foden, Please do Not Disturb draws on Robert Glancy's own childhood in Malawi (under the presidency of Hastings Banda)The highly acclaimed Terms & Conditions introduced Robert Glancy as a brilliantly profound comic writer. Like the late Paul Torday he writes novels that deftly use humour to make deeply serious points and creates characters who spring to life off the pageThe issues of corruption, exploitation and power in the countries of Africa are rarely out of the news and Please Do Not Disturb is as thought-provoking as it is entertainingRobert Glancy was born in Zambia and raised in Malawi. At fourteen he moved from Africa to Edinburgh then went on to study history at Cambridge. His first novel, Terms & Conditions, was published by Bloomsbury in 2014 to critical acclaim. He has recently been awarded the Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship in New Zealand, where he currently lives with his wife and children. @RobertGlancyA gripping and beautifully observed novel of power, corruption and innocence from the author of Terms & Conditions Charlie, a curious boy with a dangerous Dictaphone habit, eavesdrops on the eccentric guests of the Mirage Hotel, as the African nation of Bwalo prepares for the annual appearance of its Glorious Leader Tafumo. Sean, who's given his heart (and the best part of his liver) to Bwalo, struggles to write the great African novel - if only his crazed fiancée would stop distracting him. Josef, kingmaker and mythmaker, starts to hear the ominous rattle of skeletons in his closet. Hope, the nurse caring for the King, keeps the old man alive as she mourns her own broken dreams. And storm clouds gather as petty criminal, Jack, smuggles something into Bwalo - to the Mirage Hotel - that will change the lives of all of them for ever.A gripping and beautifully observed novel of power, corruption and innocence from the author of Terms & ConditionsOriginal, very funny and very poignant. Read it!It's wonderful. Funny, poignant, simple and profound - it's the kind of book I absolutely love. And it has the best ending I've read in a very long timeThis great debut feels fresh and playful, and exceptionally readable (footnotes have never been so addictive). It also has stuff to say about life, too, and the importance of seeing the big picture - and the small print. Every book seems to have "funny and life-affirming" written on it but this one actually isA deliciously cynical storyHilarious