Perfect English
Encyclopedia
Perfect English is the second blackly comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering
. It is based on his own experience as an "Internationalista" in the war in Nicaragua
against the Contras
. The novel was long-listed for the Booker Prize
and received very favourable reviews.
Pickering
was for a while under siege in the Atlantic Coast
town of Bluefields
, where he helped former Baader-Meinhof printer, novelist and playwright, Peter-Paul Zahl, build a Bertolt Brecht
youth theatre after his first was destroyed in the invasion of Grenada. A central concern of the novel is to illustrate how the best intentions can go horribly wrong.
Paul Pickering
- Early Life :Pickering was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur Samuel Pickering and Lorna . He was educated at the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and at the University of Leicester.- Career :...
. It is based on his own experience as an "Internationalista" in the war in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
against the Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
. The novel was long-listed for the Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
and received very favourable reviews.
Pickering
Paul Pickering
- Early Life :Pickering was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur Samuel Pickering and Lorna . He was educated at the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and at the University of Leicester.- Career :...
was for a while under siege in the Atlantic Coast
Atlantic Coast
The Atlantic Coast is any coast fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The term differentiates the coasts of countries or continents with coastlines on more than one body of water, such as North America, South America, Africa and Europe.-See also:*Indian Ocean...
town of Bluefields
Bluefields
Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...
, where he helped former Baader-Meinhof printer, novelist and playwright, Peter-Paul Zahl, build a Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
youth theatre after his first was destroyed in the invasion of Grenada. A central concern of the novel is to illustrate how the best intentions can go horribly wrong.
External links
- Debrett's People of Today 21 August 2005
- Collected reviews
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster USA.
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster UK.
- Paul Pickering's website