______________ 'Hugely entertaining' - The Times 'A wincingly entertaining portrayal of academe with its pants down. And a reminder that when things are at their worst they're also at their funniest' - Liz Jensen 'Covering familiar territory in this sardonic academic novel, McGuire wittily exposes his characters' pretensions and frustrations . Outwitted and exploited at every step of the way, Gutman and his story are at once very funny and disconcertingly sad' - Sunday Times ______________ Thirty-something Morris Gutman is a chronically indecisive temporary lecturer at the University of Coketown. Life hasn't turned out as he planned: he has a demanding wife, an insomniac child and teaches demeaning courses to ungrateful English students. However, he is willing to do whatever it takes to negotiate a permanent departmental job, even if it means finding his way through the minefield that is academia and winning over the alluring and manipulative research fellow Zoe Cable.