English Weather

 

English Weather

English Weather - Victor Gollanz 1996, Indigo 1997, Orion 2000

English Weather is the history of Gregory Harris, according to the testimony of eight people who were most closely connected to him.   He himself has no point of view.  The story is told in reverse; we meet him at the moment of his death in a prison riot and we leave him at the hour of his birth under similar circumstances.   The witnesses to his life – among them an Eritrean refugee, a hippy entrepreneur, a south London boxer, a worker in a children’s home  – were all touched by Gregory Harris and their versions of him make a conflicted portrait of the man and also an account of post war Britain.

Reviews

English Weather is a happy surprise. This is a terrific English novel!   Time Out

Let Ferguson button-hole you; he is a terrific storyteller.  Mail on Sunday

Neil Ferguson writes with unfaltering conviction and a refreshing lack of cynicism.   Carol Birch, New Statesman

Mr Ferguson has given himself a lot of homework, for his novel has nine different backgrounds, including Eritrea and Turkey and petty crime among London’s Jamaican underworld and ending with the Blitz.  It’s a virtuoso performance.  It certainly worked for me.  Clever, Mr Ferguson!’   Nicholas Bagnall, Sunday Telegraph

English Weather is an impressive achievement.  London Magazine

A wonderful novel, Ferguson’s book is a compelling study of a man who dares to be good.    Patrick Gale, Books of the Year, Daily Telegraph

A wonderful puzzle of a novel.  The Independent

A sardonic wit permeates the various narratives of the novel.  An emotionally draining book that leaves you full of rage.   New Statesman