Product Description

Edward is throwing a dinner party with Binny , his mistress. Aware that she has long been denied those small intimacies that his wife takes for granted - choosing a birthday present for his sister, for example, or sorting his socks - he wants to give her a chance to feel more involved in his life, to socialise with some of his friends (the discreet ones). Things are a little awkward to begin with - a late start and him having to be away by half past ten - but everything seems to be going well. But then some uninvited, and reather forceful guests arrive, and it doesn't look like Edward is going to make it home on time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #195995 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
'I found myself laughing till the tears ran down my cheeks . it is all horribly true to life . a most excellent book and no one should miss it' Auberon Waugh *'Painfully comical and well observed . the constant frissons of anxiety and embarassment make it all the funnier' SUNDAY TIMES *'Beryl Bainbridge is a genuine original, with a macabre imagination and a wonderful gift for catching tones of speech' NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS

About the Author
Beryl Bainbridge is one of the greatest living novelists. Author of seventeen novels, two travel books and five plays for stage and television, she has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, and has won many literary awards including the Whitbread Prize and the Author of the Year Award at the British Book Awards.

Customer Reviews

Cringe literature par excellence
Long before cringe comedies began to litter our screens Beryl Bainbridge was writing cringe novels in which foolish individuals dig themselves into awful situations because of their grandiose selfishness or infidelity. Nobody depicts the sheer crassness of human social behaviour and its absurd communication failures in such a hilarious yet terrible way. Injury time is typical of her work. Edward Freeman decides to hold a party at the house of his mistress to placate her niggling jealousy of his wife. He invites a few of his more trusted friends but he has to be away by ten o'clock to avoid suspicion. However, when some uninvited guests arrive it is plain that he is going nowhere. The resultant situation is both excruciatingly funny and excruciatingly horrible. If you enjoy this you will love `Babes in the Wood' and `The Bottle Factory Outing'.

Alma throws up all over the floor
This is a very funny and clever little piece of work, concerning Edward (married accountant) who is having a secret affair with Binny (mother and divorcee). Binny holds a dinner party for Edward, his friends Simpson and wife Muriel, who is reckoned to be broadminded enough not to mind that Edward is a supposedly respectable married man. Muriel does turn out to be sympathetic, but then Binny's drunken friend Alma turns up and throws up all over the floor. Shortly afterwards a criminal gang being chased by the police break in and take everyone hostage.

The phrase "Injury time" derives from Binny's extended metaphor of a football game being just like life - they have so little time in which to accomplish their goals. Binny's goal is to get Edward to leave his wife for her, but she is sometimes disgusted with both herself and Edward at the clichéd behaviour they each seem forced to employ.

The writing is brilliantly sharp and witty and I kept thinking what a marvellous film this would make. This is one of those books that makes you laugh out loud - a brilliant exposé of the manners and mores of the middle classes in extremis.