Ever tried to plough a swamp? Maybe calm a heifer down by mesmerising it? It's just another typical day for dairy farmer Mark and his good friend Gus Tomlins. Mark and Gus live in neighbouring dairy farms in rural New Zealand. Mark, the narrator, is a stoic introvert; his neighbour Gus however, is an "ideas" man. Gus usually convinces Mark to help him and, well, this usually leads to disastrously funny moments.
Mark and Gus are characters best known from the Gus and Me tales depicted on New Zealand radio in the 1950s. Mark and Gus is an anthology of Frank S. Anthony's original short stories which were published in 1923-24 in the New Zealand Herald, Christchurch Weekly and Auckland Weekly News. You will laugh out loud at some of the situations in which hot-headed Gus and gullible Mark find themselves. Told through the stoic and thoroughly Kiwi voice of Mark, the reader can envision the surrounding land, animals and locals which lead the two friends on a lively set of misadventures through 1920s rural New Zealand. These funny stories never lose their humour; you can tell and retell these "comedy of errors" to a delighted audience of all ages.
