An unlikely quest for love
- Book: Daisy
- Location: California, London
- Author: J P Henderson
Herod S Pinkney was a significant disappointment to his parents. Especially when compared to his favoured brother Solomon:
‘Solomon died on his sixteenth birthday after diving into the shallow end of an outdoor swimming pool. If he was as bright as my father said he was, then you have to wonder why he failed to realise that the diving boards were at the other end of the pool for a reason.’
Herod – ‘Rod’ – narrates his offbeat, heart-warming story with wry humour, and often almost with the apparent wisdom of an idiot savant. He comes into rather a lot of money when his father – founder of Pinkney Industries – dies unexpectedly, Rod’s mother already having already killed herself on her son’s birthday.
With his new-found wealth, Rod lives in a large house in central London, dispensing generosity and accumulating friends as quirky as himself.
Neighbour Donald Walker fought with Australians in the Vietnamese War, and was an expert tunneler. So it’s no surprise that he’s dug into Rod’s basement, where he has a secret stash of grapefruits for his breakfast, a citrus fruit which his bullying wife Lydia has banned.
Edmundo is married to Nelly de la Puente, Rod’s cleaner and an ex-nun. Edmundo is Peruvian, and on the run from the Shining Path terrorist group in his native country.
And there’s Ric, Rod’s literary agent who collects glasses in the local pub for now, shortly before having a breakdown, arrested for barbecuing copies of ‘Wolf Hall’ and two dozen sausages on the pavement.
Rod’s purpose in life changes dramatically one Thursday evening, at a regular get-together in his basement with Edmundo and Donald, when they like to watch 10 year-old episodes of Judge Judy. Daisy Lamprich loses the case against Clay, her surfing ex-boyfriend. Rod loses his heart.
‘That night I fell in love for what I believed would be the last time in my life. Daisy, I decided, was my destined soulmate.’
Rod engages solicitors and private eyes to track down Daisy to the Californian resort of Huntington Beach, and heads there with Donald in his quest for love.
The author writes beautiful, understated prose with a wry, dark humour. And in Rod, he has created a man of warmth and simple values.
Highly recommended for fans of ‘The Rosie Project’ and ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.’
For lovers of TripFiction, you’ll enjoy a sense of London and California with Rod and his unlikely gang, but Herod S Pinkney and his touching story will grab your attention even more powerfully.
No Exit Press will publish ‘Daisy’ in paperback on April 23, 2020
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