Commentary/review

A lovely piece of dark humour, endearing rule-breaking and first class British voice acting. It requires some knowledge of the British slang and accents but definitely worthwhile and entertaining.

The main character is truly the role-model for an honest solicitor dealing with small legal problems for his community, for free probably just as often as for a fee. While reading this lovely book, I have been approached by as many as four people in need of legal advice. Therefore, my short research would suggest there is a probability that owning the book, even in a digital format, attracts individuals willing to retain one’s legal services. Not something most lawyers can afford to overlook.

The squirrel on the cover refers to the fact that the main character frequently converses with small rodents and birds, like Saint Francis of Assisi – although it is usually the animals that provide the advice. Do not be lulled by such scenes, though. The book is a crime novel, featuring gang violence, bribes, dangerous weapons, mental illness, kidnapping and such like. The humoristic tone does not extend to the actual storyline or the emotions the characters have to deal with. The lightness lies with the way the characters face their troubles. There is wisdom in this approach and I believe that the Author, although allegedly a celebrity (unknown to me), has a remarkable depth of thought.

The performance is spot on, the book difficult to put away, like delicious comfort food. Oddly enough, food is mentioned in the book, constantly.

The cover is oversimplified but I can see why that happened. It is alright, I suppose. A strange colour but probably exactly what the customer wants.

Cover Photo by Junjie Tam on Unsplash