A Short Gentleman

'An English comic novel which is elegantly written, civilised and genuinely funny, there are smiles on almost every page. It never tumbles into farce, for it is a comedy of character, observation and tone' - Allan Massie, Scotsman

He is arguably the finest comic novelist working in Britain today. Indeed, he may just be finest comic anything working in Britain right now... Canter's prose is achingly funny...it is also vital, acute, literary and oddly moving.

Brilliant, but for God's sake don't let this book fall into the hands of any women - if they find out what we're really like we'll never hear the end of it

Canter is a sharp writer with a wickedly dry wit. His precise style is a joy to read, combining riotous humour and moments of genuine pathos

This is light reading but deceptively so, offering deliciously well observed vignettes of the top legal set

Witty, accomplished and highly entertaining

With great panache and assurance, Jon Canter lampoons the pretentions of England's top legal set...this comic tour de force.

Jon Canter projects a series of funny, sometimes hilarious, incidents in which the comedy is structured rather than slapstick, verging on the licentious but masterfully avoiding it

Jon Canter is the author of two other novels, Seeds of Greatness, adapted for BBC Radio 4, and Worth. He has also written stand-up comedy, TV and radio scripts for many of Britain's most prominent comedians, and comment pieces for the Guardian.

How did Robert Purcell, distinguished barrister and perfect specimen of the British Establishment, end up in prison? An intellectual giant but an emotional pygmy, Robert is a man struggling to come to terms with the forces that have brought him down, from the wife who wanted him to change, to the ex-girlfriend who came back to haunt him and the childhood bully who turned into an adult bully. 
 
Despite everything, Robert remains the same magnificently self-righteous man he always was, utterly resistant to therapy, change and the emotional demands of the opposite sex.

Seeds Of Greatness

A legendary comedy scriptwriter writes his first novel; the result: a comic classic. 
 
'Funny, twisted, touching, funny, bitter and funny. It's also very funny' - Hugh Laurie.

Jon Canter is a north London Woody Allen. I haven't laughed so much in years - and then I realised that I had felt and thought hard too

A wise cracking monologue... laugh-a-line funny but in the tradition of jewish humour, [it] touches a serious issue

A very funny, intelligent novel about being a failure

Well observed, warm humour... perfect parody

Funny, beautiful and strangely moving - stuffed full of belly laughs, but written from the heart

Canter explores with gentle acuity the oppositions in long term friendship, and delves humorously into the relationship between writer and subject

The most impressive thing in this novel is the way it captures the nuances of the love hate relationship between two friends who have enjoyed contrasting fortunes...There will not be many more polished debuts in 2006. Canter has taken an old tale and retold it with admirable invention and freshness

Jon Canter is the author of two other novels, Worth and A Short Gentleman, which was adapted for BBC Radio 4. He has also written stand-up comedy, TV and radio scripts for many of Britain's most prominent comedians, and comment pieces for the Guardian.

Two friends grow up in a North London Jewish suburb. David is bright, parent-pleasing and obviously destined for great things. But somehow he ends up earning peanuts in a Suffolk bookshop while his devious and wayward friend Jack, becomes rich and famous as a TV chat-show host. 
 
When Jack dies, his widow and publisher commission David to write his biography; after all, dependable David can be relied upon not to dish the dirt about the sex, the drugs and the women. David however soon realises that it's finally time he stopped doing what is expected of him. Instead he must write the true story of the forty year friendship that has dominated his life and then maybe he'll get Jack out of his system. But what David soon finds is that he can never be completely free of Jack...

Jon Canter

He is arguably the finest comic novelist working in Britain today. Indeed, he may just be the finest comic anything working in Britain right now... Canter's prose is achingly funny...it is also vital, acute, literary and oddly moving.

Brilliantly good - so precise and well-observed and witty, and also one of the few books I've ever read that manages to be both tense and funny

Hilarious... Smart, confident and, in places, eye wateringly upfront

Powered by Jon Canter's sharp and original wit and his constantly fizzing prose...an acute and very funny novel about the perils of rural life and of falling a little bit in love with your next-door neighbour

As an advertisement for either urban or rural living among self-satisfied characters, Worth is a toe-curling horror story; as a cheeky and well-directed poke in said characters' eyes, it's a winner

Canter is a sympathetic writer and one with a keen eye and ear for the absurd. There are sentences on almost every page which raise a smile

With shades of Mike Leigh's Another Year, it's a consistently funny skewering of middle-class clichés with memorable characters and a dark twist

It's set in my favourite place (Suffolk) and I opened it at random, read a page and laughed

A darkly comic read that's perfect for anyone considering chucking in city life and starting afresh

The author's comic take on the gap between his characters' aspirations and their shortfall makes for hilarious, snappy reading... A sermon on the perils of the rural dream, it will have estate agents blanching. But as a robust and sharp piece of fiction, it is smart, confident and, in places, eye wateringly upfront

Jon Canter is hilarious and self-deprecating, a wonderful, wise and witty writer

Canter is a sharp writer with a wickedly dry wit

Metropolitan media types transplanted to Suffolk provides fertile ground for Canter’s third hilarious novel…every page contains a joke

For Richard and Sarah, leaving the rat-race of London for the sleepy village of Worth feels like a dream come true. But their new life isn’t quite as idyllic as it first seems. The cottage is tiny and the neighbours are excruciating. Soon they find themselves reverse-commuting back to London on the weekends, just to be with people they like. Then Catherine moves in next door. Smart, sophisticated, beautiful Catherine seems like the answer to their prayers. But will their new best friend turn out to be their enemy?

Jon Canter

Praise for Worth

He is arguably the finest comic novelist working in Britain today. Indeed, he may just be the finest comic anything working in Britain right now... Canter's prose is achingly funny...it is also vital, acute, literar ...

Brilliantly good - so precise and well-observed and witty, and also one of the few books I've ever read that manages to be both tense and funny

Hilarious... Smart, confident and, in places, eye wateringly upfront

He is arguably the finest comic novelist working in Britain today. Indeed, he may just be the finest comic anything working in Britain right now... Canter's prose is achingly funny...it is also vital, acute, literar ...

Brilliantly good - so precise and well-observed and witty, and also one of the few books I've ever read that manages to be both tense and funny

Hilarious... Smart, confident and, in places, eye wateringly upfront

He is arguably the finest comic novelist working in Britain today. Indeed, he may just be the finest comic anything working in Britain right now... Canter's prose is achingly funny...it is also vital, acute, literar ...

Brilliantly good - so precise and well-observed and witty, and also one of the few books I've ever read that manages to be both tense and funny

Hilarious... Smart, confident and, in places, eye wateringly upfront

Books by Jon Canter

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