'Exquisitely written and wonderfully readable - There are tears, laughter and filial tenderness on every page of Tim Jeal's perfect gem of a book.' Val Hennessy, Daily MailAn exquisite and moving portrait of a deeply eccentric father. Tim Jeal's beautifully nuanced memoir is by turns lyrical, poignant and gloriously funny.'Jeal's prose is so sprightly, his interweaving of time-schemes so skilful, and his 'ordinary' story so touching that his book feels completely fresh - At its heart is an unusually engrossing account of parental oddity, marital resilience and filial complexity.' Andrew Motion, Guardian'This is a marvellous book: funny, vivid, immensely touching and beautifully constructed.' John Preston, Evening Standard'A pleasure to read: unpretentious, moving, full of jokes but also unobtrusively wise.' Anne Chisholm, Sunday Telegraph