The English harem - Anthony Mccarten

Hilarious, provoking, vivid story of food, love, menus and IslamThe English Harem is the story of Tracy Pringle who begins the book daydreaming at the checkout till of Sainsbury's. Sacked suddenly for watching an old lady shop lift she tries her luck as a waitress at a Persian restaurant. Her father thinks she's turned to prostitution and Sam, the restaurant owner is bewildered by the arrival of the unsuitably dressed Miss Pringle at his establishment. But Sam has problems of his own, reconciling his vegetarianism with his family's tradition of working in the butcher trade in Iran. The longer Tracy works the more involved she gets with Sam, his two wives and the complicated menu...McCarten shows the same flair for dialogue and a brilliant sense of place (a scene where Tracy and Sam try and use the lift in her council block is priceless). With the setting being London this has possibly more commercial potential in the UK.