{"product_id":"i-am-sovereign","title":"I Am Sovereign","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e__________________________________________\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''One of the funniest, most finely achieved comic novels, even by her own standard … I think it’s a masterpiece\u003c\/b\u003e.'' ALI SMITH\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘I think Nicola Barker is incapable of a dull page. [Her work] is unified by its spirit of adventure.’ \u003c\/b\u003eKEVIN BARRY\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow long does it take to change the world?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCould it happen in approximately twenty minutes?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCharles, a forty-year-old teddy bear maker, is trying to sell his late mother''s house, helped by his estate agent Avigail (who thinks Charles is an imbecile). The prospective buyers: the fearsome Wang Shu - who has no desire to make idle chit-chat - and her downtrodden daughter, Ying Yue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDuring the twenty-minute viewing a huge number of things happen, although it is also entirely possible that nothing happens at all. Which is it? Can the world really turn on its axis during a mundane discussion about cheese preservation? Has fiction the power to do that? Should it even want to?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e__________________________________________\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eShe really is a genius.’ \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Life-affirming hilarity – Evelyn Waugh on ecstasy.’ \u003c\/b\u003eNELL ZINK\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A madly brilliant little book that asks who at any point is in control of what. I loved it.'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eDAILY MAIL\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eNicola Barker’s wildness and capacity for the absurd often delight me\u003c\/b\u003e.’ SARAH MOSS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eWhat an audacious writer Nicola Barker is\u003c\/b\u003e … \u003cb\u003eIn an era when plot is king, Barker has typically, joyously, dispensed with one \u003c\/b\u003e… \u003cb\u003eBarker’s pleasure in the novella feels defiant\u003c\/b\u003e.’ \u003ci\u003eEVENING STANDARD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eI Am Sovereign\u003c\/i\u003e is bursting with energy, compassion and humour\u003c\/b\u003e.’ \u003ci\u003eLITERARY REVIEW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eBarker is a writer in a class of her own\u003c\/b\u003e … \u003cb\u003eA work of coruscating intelligence, of deep humanity\u003c\/b\u003e.’ \u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eA riotous burst of a novel that scrutinises the nature of fiction with the lightest of touches\u003c\/b\u003e.’ \u003ci\u003eMAIL ON SUNDAY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eA bracing, brilliantly bonkers comic novel\u003c\/b\u003e … \u003cb\u003eThis is freewheeling fiction that delights in the visual\u003c\/b\u003e.’ \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eBarker’s writing is very, very funny, both ha ha and strange\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003cb\u003eFans of Ali Smith’s “Seasonal Quartet” will enjoy a similarly arch, detached view on the banality of contemporary Britain\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003cb\u003eA gloriously audacious blend of, well, the deep and the trite\u003c\/b\u003e.’ \u003ci\u003eINDEPENDENT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57393229889918,"sku":"NW9781786090959","price":15.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781786090959.jpg?v=1778686355","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/en-eu\/products\/i-am-sovereign","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}