Product Description

"My name is Luke Wakefiled and I am a failure...My ability to miss out, to fall short, to come to gried, amounts to a talent...Even my failure is a failure. My life has lurched from one catastrophe to another." Until one day a different kind of catastrophe occurs: the man in front of him in the post office queue suddenly drops down dead. Instinctively, Mr Wakefield's hand snakes out and slips the corpse's unposted letter into his pocket. With one impulsive act he launches his crusade, ostensibly a search for Truth and Justice- and the identity of the mysterious 'Marion'- but eventually an irresistable adventure which takes him through a labyrinth of risks, clues and blind alleys to lead him triumphantly- if a little haphazardly- to hilarious success.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #541837 in Books
• Published on: 1992-03-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 190 pages

Review
'Bernice Ruben's zaniest, funniest, most lucid and most lonely of heroes to date.' Jane Gardam. 'First class entertainment.' LISTENER 'We are left with that warm feeling that follows a good read that is also much more than that.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'The tale skips and bounces and loops back upon itself with dazzling agility while the hero stalls and bumbles about hopelessly. Once again Bernice Rubens demonstrates that she is one of the cleverest and funniest novelists writing in England today.' PUNCH 'For sparkle... go for Bernice Ruben's Mr Wakefield's Crusade.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'It is a small, witty, neat, very English novel.' THE TIMES 'The complexity is considerable, the intrigue professionally handles and the humour... refreshing- exactly the element necessary to keep Ruben's audience happily reading.' PUBLISHING WEEKLY 'She breaks new ground both technically and psychologically.' THE FINANCIAL TIMES

About the Author
Bernice Rubens read English at the University of Wales, of which she was a fellow. She alternated working in the film industry and writing novels. She won the Booker Prize for THE ELECTED MEMBER and The Welsh County Council prize for OUR FATHER. She died in 2004.

Customer Reviews

An excellent novel
Luke Wakefield is a failure. He has been a loser all his life. Even his failure is a failure. One day is queuing at the post office when the man in front of him simply falls dead. Luke decides to pocket the dead man's final epistle and leave the post office. Back at home he discovers that the letter was written by a Sebastian Firbank to his wife Marian Firbank in which he unmistakably states that he killed her. This event takes Luke on his mission to trace Marion's relatives, a long and patient investigation and a search which will in itself enrich his otherwise empty life.
In this entertaining and very well written novel we see a man bewitched by the death of a woman he has never met. His `crusade' to find her body is fuelled by the bleakness of his personal life and takes the form of a bizarre chase leading to an astonishing conclusion and unexpected happiness. Unusual and intriguing. Definitely worth reading.