Astroturf

By: Matthew Sperling

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Paperback | 16 May 2019 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
210 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
1.3 x 12.5 x 19.7

Paperback

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A brilliantly funny and touching story about masculinity, identity, sock-puppets and steroids from an extremely promising new talent

Good things can happen when you do bad things

At thirty, Ned is in a rut. His girlfriend has dumped him, his job is boring and he lives in a dismal bedsit. While others around him climb the property ladder and get ahead, he seems destined to remain one of life's plodders.

Encouraged by a friend to try using steroids to bulk up his frame, Ned is pleased to discover a new vitality within himself. Physical changes are only the beginning: his mental state is clearer, he feels more confident and, most thrillingly of all, friends and lovers alike seem compelled by this new improved Ned.

Using his knowledge of the murky yet surprising online world of steroids, Ned begins to build a business and discovers that his talents can take him further than he ever thought possible. But when is new life is threatened, he finds himself doing things he never would have dared to do before.

And it all seems to be going fine . . .

About the Author

Matthew Sperling is a lecturer in English Literature at UCL. His fiction and poetry has been published in, among others, New Statesman, 3:AM, The Junket and Best British Short Stories 2015 edited by Nicholas Royle.

Industry Reviews

I loved Matthew Sperling's sly, subversive novel, a wickedly funny tale of how to come out on top in a fake news world.

Outrageous, sexy and funny. Sperling writes with the caustic economy of Waugh or Spark, but his characters have more heart, including the sock-puppets. The plot is so taut I'm still re-reading it trying to work out exactly how he brings the tension of a heist movie to 30-something bedsit London, all the while deliciously subverting our expectations. A joy to read - Luke Kennard, author of The Transition

Themes of warped masculinity, identity, survival and the pursuit of perfection are all vividly rendered . . . a brawn cocktail that nails the zeitgeist. - Irish Times

A snapshot of contemporary masculinity. - New Statesman

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