The Gift

A Novel

by David Flusfeder

On Sale: 12/14/2004

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The Gift

A Novel

by David Flusfeder

On Sale: 12/14/2004

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Amazon Indigo

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About the Book

Phillip's best friends are richer than he is. They're more successful. Worst of all, they give fabulous presents: a handmade corkscrew from Venice, an irritatingly perfect jade carving, impossible-to-get soccer tickets. These are gifts that hurt a man's pride. And they can never be matched. Which doesn't mean Phillip won't try ... Outrageously funny and deftly observed, The Gift delights in the comically destructive forces of envy and desire that drive us all.

Critical Praise

“Flusfeder’s farcical morality tale is darkly comedic but also surprisingly sweet in all the right places.” — Booklist

“A witty, razor sharp novel, with just the right amount of tenderness.” — Publishers Weekly

“The best book you’ll give yourself all year. Don’t waste it on anyone else—they don’t deserve it.’ — Will Self

“Unexpectedly wise and generous: a complete story and a very good one.” — Jonathan Franzen

“A compelling, provokingly ambivalent and often surprisingly tender story.” — London Times

“Piercingly well-written..a psychological thriller, a meditation on the barrenness of modern, material life [and] a gloomily funny novel.” — Sunday Express (London)

“Flusfeder is certainly doing something different from and more interesting than most contemporary British novelists.” — Independent (UK)

“A deep and surreal exposition on the cruelty of generosity...the perfect present for your successful friends.” — London Times (Sunday)

“The perfect gift to answer all gifts...remarkably perceptive...a triumph.” — Observer (UK)

“Flusfeder spins reality into a dream and back again...[giving] us a gift he may find hard to match.” — Guardian

“A moving, desperate farce in which the gifts and their consequences keep on coming...a dashingly written comic novel.” — Saturday Telegraph (London)

“A black comedy of rare originality...[that] has the makings of a cult classic. Read it and read it again.” — Mail on Sunday (London)

“An extremely funny book. Seldom has the desperation of modern man been so devastatingly portrayed. — Marie Claire (UK)