The Last Family In England - Softcover

Haig, Matt

3.53

5,785 ratings by Goodreads

9780224072779: The Last Family In England

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0224072773 ISBN 13: 9780224072779

Publisher: Jonathan Cape, 2004

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Meet the Hunter family: Adam, a teacher, his wife Kate, and their children Hal, seventeen, and Charlotte, thirteen. And Prince, their black Labrador. It's Prince who is the narrator and protagonist of this tale. An earnest young dog, he strives hard to live up to the tenets of the Labrador Pact. (Labradors believe in 'Duty Over All', that duty being to remain loyal to their human masters, to serve and protect their Family at any cost. Other dogs, led by the Springer Spaniels, have revolted. Their slogans are 'Dogs for Dogs, not for Humans' and 'Pleasure not Duty'.) Mentored by an elderly Labrador called Henry, whom he meets each day in the park, Prince takes his responsibilities seriously, and as things in the Hunter family begin to go badly awry, his responsibilities threaten to overwhelm him. It all starts when a new couple move into the big house overlooking the park. Soon Adam is besotted with Emily, the beautiful aromatherapist, while her husband Simon seems to have played a significant part in Kate's past...Hal is tripping on acid and the house is invaded by his rowdy friends for a party; Charlotte's fallen out with Adam over her new boyfriend and tries to end it all with an overdose. And down in the park it's even worse: Henry has disappeared; Emily's dog Falstaff wants to lead Prince astray; has the terrifying Rottweiler Lear killed Joyce, the Irish wolfhound? In the end Prince is forced to break the Labrador Pact and take desperate action to save his Family. The Last Family in England is funny, sad, quirky, original and - incidentally - a brilliant reworking of Henry IV Part II.

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Review:

'A comic tour de force... Haig has pulled off the difficult feat of sustaining a joke right the way through' -- The Times, 22nd May 2004

'An enjoyable modern-day fable... Touching, funny and unique' -- The List, May 2004

'Haig pulls it off stylishly and unsentimentally' -- Observer, 23rd May 2004

'So multi-faceted it could be re-read time and again... This is a remarkable book and a brilliantly entertaining read' -- The Big Issue, May 2004

'This debut novel is a winner from page one... It is perceptive, enchanting and destined to be this summer's must-read' -- Mail on Sunday, 16th May 2004

Clearly destined to become a cult hit. I only wish my dog had thought of it first. -- Daily Mail, 7th May 2004

Extremely funny... One of the most enjoyable books you could read this year. -- Waterstones Books Quarterly, Spring 2004

Highly engrossing, hilarious yet heart-breaking. -- Ink magazine, May 2004

The view of humans through the eyes of a dog is intriguing. -- OK! magazine, 1st May 2004

From the Publisher:

'I love this book. It's fabulous and moving and funny and strange. It will go down among the great animal books' Jeanette Winterson

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