Mr Golightly's Holiday by Salley Vickers

Mr Golightly's Holiday

Salley Vickers

For me, not quite as stunning as Miss Garnet's Angel, but unusual none the less. On the surface it's the story of a business man who has escaped on holiday to finish a book he has been writing. But delve underneath and you'll find a fable where things are not exactly what they seem to be. Too much detail would give away the surprise!

Extract
After forty-five minutes of fruitless struggle Mr Golightly had reached the view that the instructions for the up-to-the-minute stove had probably been produced and marketed by his business rival. ... To distract his mind from this unwelcome line of thought, he began to check out the rest of Spring Cottage's equipment. He found the two convector heaters, slightly chipped and rusting in the cupboard under the stairs. Well, that was a blessing anyway. He could afford to take a more cavalier position with the stove. In one of the Formica cupboards there was a toaster, thank goodness with a plug attached; a broken machine apparently designed for grinding; in the cupboard beneath the stairs an iron which had seen better days, and an impossible ironing board. There were times when he might have gone in for grinding, but not on his holiday. Nor, since his secretary was not there to pass comment was there any call to iron. Toast, now, was a different kettle of fish: toast fingers with a boiled egg, was something which Mr Golightly was partial to ....
Parallels
  • The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracey Chevalier
  • Instances of the Number 3 by Salley Vickers