Synopsis

After crashing and burning during his PhD viva, Mason Ambrose is offered a large amount of money to come to the Isla de Sangre to instruct the daughter of wealthy Edwina Sabachtani.

He is to use his knowledge as a philosopher to instil a conscience, a moral compass, in Edwina's daughter Londa following a diving accident which has supposedly destroyed her sense of right and wrong.

Mason happily instructs her in schools of thought, from the stoics to the epicureans. But it is when he introduces her to the Beatitudes that the seeds of a rampaging sense of justice are sown and Londa becomes determined that the meek really shall inherit the earth.

A funny, tongue in cheek but also thought-provoking novel from the author of The Last Witchfinder that asks important questions about what makes us human and how we makes choices in a complex world.

Details

• Format : Standard 2nd Hand Paperback
• Condition : Very Good
• Category : Fiction - Fiction - Uncategorised
• Published : 2007 (This Edition 2009 - Phoenix Fiction)
• ISBN : 9780753826409
• SKU : B003076
• PPC : LL300gm
• RRP : £7.99
• Quantity Available : 1 only.

External Reviews

". . . a studiedly outrageous new satire." - Ed Lake, The Times.

"A dazzling new novel about morailty. James Morrow has created an outlandish and irresistible comedy of manners looking at humanity, philosophy and ethics." - Lindsay Jones, Press Association.

"What a remarkable book "The Philosopher's Apprentice" by James Morrow is. Not to be perturbed by it's rather docile cover illustration which conjured up a in my mind something between chick lit and a kids book I was captivated by the time I'd finished the first few pages." - Amazon Review.

"'Try withholding your judgment till you've grasped the broader picture,' Londa advises . . . A salutary caution for readers of this wildly ambitious morality play, a shrewd amalgamation of the sacred and the profane." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Aristotle is referred to so often in this brilliant comedy of manners as to seem to be alive. How can a novel so loaded with ideas be so funny and consistently engrossing?" - Library Journal.

"Morrow guides readers through preposterous plot points without sacrificing plausibility. Strong characters, shots of humour and an unpredictable narrative make this a winner." - Publishers Weekly.

The Author

Born in 1947, James Morrow has been writing fiction ever since, as a seven-year-old living in the Philadelphia suburbs, he dictated “The Story of the Dog Family” to his mother, who dutifully typed it up and bound the pages with yarn. This three-page, six-chapter fantasy is still in the author’s private archives. Upon reaching adulthood, Morrow produced nine novels of speculative fiction, including the critically acclaimed Godhead Trilogy. He has won the World Fantasy Award (for Only Begotten Daughter and Towing Jehovah), the Nebula Award (for “Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge” and the novella City of Truth), and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (for the novella Shambling Towards Hiroshima). A full-time fiction writer, Morrow makes his home in State College, Pennsylvania, with his wife, his son, an enigmatic sheepdog, and a loopy beagle.