The half that works - Laurie Horner

This comedy of errors is a brilliant first novel from a born writer. Dave is known by his art teachers and fellow students as 'technically competent' - a huge insult for any aspiring artist. And after a graphic design course, his life does not take off in the manner in which he expected... So when his lifelong competitor, the beautiful and manipulative Jessica, becomes famous indirectly via Dave's own artistic inspiration, he takes his revenge on her and the establishment - but with disastrous and hilarious consequences. Full of acidic wit and comical characters, The Half that Works pokes fun at the pretensions and undercurrents present in the art world; and begs that age-old question - what is modern art? 'Boy, can he write.' Jan Mark