Poppy Shakespeare

Description

Who is mad? Who is sane? Who decides? Welcome to the Dorothy Fish, a hospital in North London. N has been a patient for thirteen years. Day after day, she sits smoking in the common room and swapping medication. Like the other patients, N's ambition is never to be discharged. Then, in walks Poppy Shakespeare in a short skirt and snakeskin heels. Poppy is certain she isn't mentally ill and desperate to return to her life outside and, though baffled, N agrees to help her. But in a world where everything's upside down, are they crazy enough to upset the system?

Promotion info

Shortlisted for the Mind Book of the Year Award 2007

Awards

Shortlisted for BT Mind Awards Book of the Year 2007.

Reviews

'Poppy Shakespeare has that rare quality: the feel of a book that needed to be written ... It is bitterly, brutally funny and extraordinarily moving' Telegraph 'Catch-22 meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ... an electrifying debut ... surreal, raucous, infuriating and very funny' Guardian 'The characters, in all their bravado, pathos and absurdity, feel utterly true to life. It is a brave and original piece of work' Patrick McGrath 'Funny, lyrical and deeply affecting ... Seize this passionate, unsettling, accomplished debut with both hands' Spectator

Author description

Clare Allan was the winner of the first Orange/Harpers short-story prize. She lives in London. This is her first novel.