The tap dancer - Andrew Barrow

'Andrew Barrow's first novel is reminiscent of John Mortimer's A Voyage Round My Father. Both are portraits of ageing patriarchs whose behaviour is outrageously self-centred but who retain a place in their children's affections by their sheer eccentricity' Sunday Telegraph

'A comic masterpiece . . . Andrew Barrow's insight into the minutiae of English family life is absolutely brilliant . . . his ear for dialogue is matchless . . . this is a great literary creation' Spectator

'Weird but wonderful first novel . . . brilliantly funny . . . horribly true' Harpers & Queen

'A magnificent creation . . . Could rank alongside Mr Pooter and Nancy Mitford's Uncle Matthew' Independent

'All the characters, even the minor ones, are perfectly realised, thanks largely to Barrow's remarkable skill at pinpointing the social and psychological undercurrents of casual conversation' Times Literary Supplement

'Father, tap dancing weirdly across the kitchen in moments of glee, has immense vitality . . . A comic masterpiece' Financial Times