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Tim Lott
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Rumours of a Hurricane Paperback – 6 Feb. 2003

by Tim Lott (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars (37)

Tragic and hilarious in equal measure, Tim Lott’s story of Charlie and Maureen Buck’s ailing marriage and their climb up (and down) the social ladder during the 1980s is a wonderfully honest portrait of ordinary people living through an extraordinary time. Steeped in the decade’s cataclysmic events, packed with the crimes and misdemeanours we visit on each another, ‘Rumours of a Hurricane’ is a powerful tale of change, how we face it – and how we don’t.

‘An outstanding comic novel. Places the 1980s under sceptical and merciless scrutiny’ Literary Review.

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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin
  4. Publication date
    6 Feb. 2003
  5. Dimensions
    14.5 x 2.6 x 19.7 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    014028446X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0140284461
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Product description

Review

A landmark novel ... a subtle, vivid and compassionate exploration of the effets of social change on the southern working class ... a mature tragedy (Daily Mail)

The first great British novel of the 21st Century (Tony Parsons)

About the Author

Tim Lott's previous books are The Scent of Dried Roses, which was awarded the jR Ackerley Prize for Autobiography, and White City Blue which won the Whitbread first novel award. Tim Lott lives in London NW10.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 6 Feb. 2003
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014028446X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140284461
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 250 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.5 x 2.6 x 19.7 cm
  • Best Sellers Rank: 941,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    3.5 out of 5 stars (37)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Tim Lott

Tim Lott

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Tim Lott is the author of ten novels and a memoir, The Scent of Dried Roses, which won the PEN/J.R. Ackerley Prize and is a Penguin Modern Classic. White City Blue won the Whitbread First Novel Award, his second novel 'Rumours of a Hurricane' was shortlisted for the Encore Award and the Costa Novel award and his young adult book Fearless was long-listed for the Guardian Children's Book Award. His latest novel is 'Now We Are Forgiven', published by Scribner, is the third in the trilogy which started with 'White City Blue' and was followed by 'When We Were Rich'. Tim lives in northwest London. Visit his website www.timlott.co.uk or his Substack page timlott.substack.com

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
37 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Andy C
    5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful emotive portrayal of the 80s
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 August 2020
    Format: Paperback
    This is one of my all time favourite books and I think massively underrated! I think it captures the period superbly and the predicament of the central character. It's a realistc portrait of the 80s brought down to an individual level, with the characters being well-drawnn.

    Please don't read it as a 'comic novel' - it isn't... just supremly sad and evocative.
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  • Frank
    4.0 out of 5 stars I will be reading more of Tim Lott's books.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2015
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Very enjoyable. Cleverly winds together historical facts and trends with intimate description of normal peoples lives.
    The characters are very skillfully drawn and reflect on how people think. I will be reading more of Tim Lott's books.
    In fact I've already ordered at least one.
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  • JudithTaylor
    1.0 out of 5 stars Book group choice
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 December 2013
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    A rather strange and sad book. Supposed to be funny but ....... As usual the great and good of the world of reading thought it was wonderful.
    One person found this helpful
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  • hextol
    2.0 out of 5 stars very hard work
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    found this quite hard work and certainly not the wondrfully humorous read that some did.

    instead i found his portrayal of a horrible decade to live through very heavy handed with none of the characters properly developed and most bordering on the stereo-typical in effect this is a political treatise on a decade with the characters simply existing as hooks to put some detail on.

    although i lived in London for much of this period, I am originally from the north and found the slant on events written with a heavy southern bias- just don' t think it was like this for a big part of the country.

    all too much like hard work to read and clearly written by a journalist rather than novelist.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Cwams mum
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Lasting Impression
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 November 2012
    Format: Paperback
    I was probably an oddity in the 80s as I didn't make any money but I certainly recognised everything else in this book as absolutely spot on, although at the beginning I felt as if the nostalgia was a little too evocative. I wanted to shout: 'Stop, enough; I get the message'. But it also meant I knew exactly where I was meant to be and when. The casual racism, the violence and the sexism were all painful memories of the time and just three reasons why we won't miss this era. So why was the book so good given the undercurrent of impending disaster? Partly because I cared about the characters, even if I didn't particularly like them. Charlie, the 'hero', was a weak man and not a good father; Maureen, his wife, was the most irritating woman I think I've ever come across; Tommy, his brother, was a crude, violent thug; Robert, his son, was probably not the son we all dream of having as parents - but at least he appeared to love Charlie and Maureen - and he seemed quite keen on his Aunty Lorraine too...
    But better than the characters, in my opinion, is Tim Lott's writing. Who said journalists can't write fiction? Or dialogue? I loved the humour and the pathos and I liked the fact that it was truthful: Every character, in a way, got what they deserved.
    As good as another journalist, Zoe Heller's, fiction and a book that I believe will be enjoyed by men as well as women. I recommed Rumours of a Hurricane with my head - and with my heart.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Bronwen
    4.0 out of 5 stars A poignant story
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 June 2013
    Format: Paperback
    Reading this in 2013 - I had a particular sense of deja vu. In the boom years of the 80s people and politicians found it impossible to believe that the economy would implode, but it has imploded several times since the era in which this novel is set, and probably worse on each occasion, so this novel has particular resonance even now. For this reason I was less conscious of the comic aspect of this story story and more attuned to the tragic story as it unfolded. I was a teenager in the 80s so the book had a warm fuzz of nostalgia about it too. Another great book from Tim Lott
    One person found this helpful
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  • S. Summerfield
    3.0 out of 5 stars Well written but anticlimatic
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 May 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Nice to read for nostaglia's sake if one is of a certain generation. The problem with the book is the ending is known at the beginning. Or at the end of the beginning at most. Not sure if I really care about any of the characters one way or the other. Not his best work.
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  • Wakefield, 2011
    5.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2008
    Format: Paperback
    Tim Lott is often grouped with Tony Parsons and (occasionally) Jonathan Coe as a purveyor of something called 'new lad lit'. There is an endorsement from the loathesome Parsons himself on the cover of this paperback....all of which would deter most right-thinking people from exploring his work.

    However, I strongly urge you to ignore the Parsons recommendation and plunge right in: this is the best British novel I've read in recent years. Those with strong memories of the awful 1980s will find it especially fascinating - Lott's style, which manages the trick feat of being both detached and emotional - is one of the story's major assets; another is his characterisation, which is spot-on (though I'd agree with the reviewer who finds the 'left-wing' journalist a bit of a cliche). Ultimately, though, it is the story - one couple's journey through the Thatcher years - that will have you gripped, as it builds to an absolutely devastating conclusion.

    I find it difficult to say too many good things about this novel.
    One person found this helpful
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