Quicksand Tales
The Misadventures of Keggie Carew
Keggie Carew
“Picasso said a picture hung crookedly on a wall tells you a lot more about the owner than a straight one ever could; he said he preferred crooked pictures. He knew, of course, we are all crooked pictures, busy in the lifelong pursuit of straightening ourselves, yet it is the straight picture we strive to portray.”
Available as eBook, Downloadable audio, Paperback
A hilarious, embarrassing collection of misadventures from the Costa-winning author of Dadland
Ever been talked into buying a camel? Or become a burglar by mistake? Or accidentally drugged a friend on a blind date?
Keggie Carew has an unerring instinct for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, of putting her foot in it, and making a hash of things. From the repercussions of a missing purse, to boiling a frog, or the holiday when the last thing you could possibly imagine happens, Keggie has been there. She also has an enviable talent for recycling awfulness and turning embarrassment into gold. In prose that will make you laugh, wince and curl your toes, Keggie Carew shares her most humiliating, awkward, uncomfortable, funny, true, terrible and all-too-relatable moments.
You will be glad none of it happened to you.
“I don’t know how she does it but Keggie has the ability to take the sideways moments in life, and paint them with such humour and folly and awfulness I go from snort-out-loud laughing to wonder. Here is a collection of tales of mistakes that verge from terrifying to everyday but told once again with Keggie’s rare blend of wit, warmth, zany fizz and plain honesty”
Rachel Joyce
See more reviews
“This is an unexpected and unusual treat: a funny and clever collection of non-fiction stories that feels like a breath of fresh air … This is laugh-out-loud, delightful comedic writing. It captures a mood of escapism and nostalgia that I found incredibly reassuring and cheering. More Keggie, please”
Viv Groskop
observer
“Hilariously, toe-curlingly relatable … a joyous burst of authenticity”
mail On Sunday
“Carew is a natural storyteller, and each of these tales works like a perfectly paced standup routine, punctuated by some gorgeous phrase-making … It’s hard to make writing look this easy, but Carew’s stories have the knack of easing the reader happily from page to page, leaving us squirming at the situations she finds herself in while secretly hoping that she won’t escape them just yet”
guardian
“Wonderfully written, very funny and full of life”
Roger Daltrey
Keggie Carew
Keggie Carew has lived in West Cork, Barcelona, Texas, Auckland and London. Before writing, her career was in contemporary art. Keggie lives in Wiltshire with her husband Jonathan. She is the author of Dadland, which won the 2016 COSTA biography award.
keggiecarew.co.uk
‘This is laugh-out-loud, delightful comedic writing. It captures a mood of escapism and nostalgia that I found incredibly reassuring and cheering. More Keggie, please.’
Viv Groskop
Observer