Kansas in August

By Patrick Gale

Book Overview

Patrick Gale's second novel KANSAS IN AUGUST is a witty, warm 1980s story of sexuality, musicals, bedsits and an abandoned child

'Modern, excellent and sympathetic' Stephen Fry

Hilary Metcalfe is obsessed with musicals, and abandoned on his birthday by his lover Rufus on his birthday, he gets drunk, discovers a baby and brings it home to his flat above a corner shop to provide comfort and company.

Rufus, meanwhile, allows himself to be seduced by a frivolous young woman, who is romancing under a pseudonym to escape the reality of her own loneliness.

In this witty, bawdy slice of sex and lies, the trio will find themselves drawn together ever more tightly by the lures of hedonism, self-delusion and the inescapable desire to be needed.

What readers admired about KANSAS IN AUGUST:

'He has a great gift of involving his readers with his characters. You care about them' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'As always with novels from Patrick Gale, this is beautifully written with characters you become involved with and care about' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'I love anything by Patrick Gale. His earlier books are worth reading' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1472255569
• ISBN13: 9781472255563
• Release Date: October 2024
• Publisher: Tinder Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

A TEASER only 160 pages

A quirky too short story about a brother (gay) and sister (straight) who unwittingly share a lover. The lover doesn't know it either and he's trying to sort out his feelings for each. That part is well done. But then the brother finds and takes in an infant abandoned in the subway on a freezing cold snowy midnight, screaming it's little lungs out. Oh how anyone can do that I'll never know, for gods sake. Those are the two main plots. Both perfect but IT'S TOO SHORT DANG IT! After reading 'Facing the Tank' I could see this author taking these two themes and making a beautiful novel. But he doesn't. It's as tho this is Mr. Gales outline for the novel to come. I'd like to see him rewrite, or rather finish writing Kansas in August. You don't find too many authors with that magic touch.