{"product_id":"we-need-to-talk","title":"We Need to Talk","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA wickedly honest portrait of Middle England on the eve of Covid\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘As intricately crafted as an Ayckbourn play’ Ailsa Cox\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"26f15689-9065-0575-5115-10bab27f4df4\"]' data-w-id=\"26f15689-9065-0575-5115-10bab27f4df4\"\u003eIt’s 2019 in Sudleigh, a market town not far from the south coast. It’s not a bad place to live, provided the new housing development doesn’t ruin it, but most residents are too caught up in their own grudges, sores and struggles to notice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"c30f168f-df71-39b3-9ad3-d5fbaf955212\"]' data-w-id=\"c30f168f-df71-39b3-9ad3-d5fbaf955212\"\u003eGap-year Tom is cleaning toilets but finding unexpected solace in his Chinese house-share. Former lounge musician Frank wants to pass his carpet business to his nephew Josh, killing the boy’s dream to become a chef. Sharp-elbowed phone-sex operator Heather will stop at nothing to become manager of the golf club. Miss Bennett keeps putting her house on the market when she doesn’t want to move.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"689a3122-5aaa-c84a-125f-bccb1df18c55\"]' data-w-id=\"689a3122-5aaa-c84a-125f-bccb1df18c55\"\u003eDo they all know how their lives are linked? And will creative writing tutor Tony, hard at work on his ironic pseudo-children’s book \u003cem data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"6de27894-2f79-5d21-4c38-450795f5c0bb\"]' data-w-id=\"6de27894-2f79-5d21-4c38-450795f5c0bb\"\u003eThe Jazz Cats\u003c\/em\u003e, ever pluck up the courage to leave his unappreciative girlfriend Lydia?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"354db8e3-470c-f7a0-c47e-02ce84941e33\"]' data-w-id=\"354db8e3-470c-f7a0-c47e-02ce84941e33\"\u003eMeticulously observed, with flashes of wicked comedy, \u003cem data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"1e7a0f9c-123b-b3a1-27c0-aa274365f699\"]' data-w-id=\"1e7a0f9c-123b-b3a1-27c0-aa274365f699\"\u003eWe Need to Talk\u003c\/em\u003e offers a jigsaw puzzle of unwitting connections for the reader to assemble. The finished picture is an unflinchingly honest portrait of multi-jobbing, gig-economy Middle England on the eve of Covid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"354db8e3-470c-f7a0-c47e-02ce84941e33\"]' data-w-id=\"354db8e3-470c-f7a0-c47e-02ce84941e33\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Striking and stirring’ \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrazia\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Crane perfectly encapsulates the suffocation and claustrophobia of a woefully average English town. Each story is rich with the everyday – nothing is unusual or out of the ordinary, and that’s what makes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe Need to Talk\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eso enjoyable’ \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStorgy Magazine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Jonathan Crane exposes the new heart of England with interwoven lives placed under the modern pressures that are blasting us into bits. A beautifully paced, gossipy, moving novel about a divided nation drifting out of touch with itself’ \u003cstrong\u003eMatthew De Abaitua\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Paints a picture of Middle England on the eve of the coronavirus pandemic, told through a series of wonderful, unexpected characters and their interconnected lives. It’s a very rewarding read’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eMonocle Reads\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘A series of small and tall tales of people who are all entwined, with some glorious moments as well as some very touching ones. I really enjoyed having a peek behind the curtain at all these amazing characters. Jonathan Crane is a wonderful writer’ \u003cstrong\u003eTony Fisher, BBC Essex\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-automation-id=\"dyn-item-description-input\" data-wf-id='[\"354db8e3-470c-f7a0-c47e-02ce84941e33\"]' data-w-id=\"354db8e3-470c-f7a0-c47e-02ce84941e33\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003ePaperback\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003ePublished: Lightning (July 2020)\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003eISBN: 9781785632389\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Eye Books Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":37870067220677,"sku":null,"price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1271\/4023\/products\/5f8d62e02d72a47c533c7e93_WeNeedtoTalk.png?v=1610282630","url":"https:\/\/www.eyebooksgroup.com\/products\/we-need-to-talk","provider":"Eye Books Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}