Sail Or Return

by John Mole

Pax Brown should be a happy man. He has a loving wife, two wonderful children, a nice little town house and a steady job in a bank. But while he tries to stem the rising tide of spilt peas and Lego and Thea cooks Sunday lunch in her underwear and green wellies, they both dream of a more fulfilling way of life. Jogging and high fibre is not the answer.Thea's aims are practical. She wants a new house and a job as a social worker. Pax wants to get out of his job before he is smothered by boredom and his doting PA the unlovely Doreen, the only one who knows what a time waster he is. He dreams of adventure and excitement and the little things of life that are passing him by, like a yacht and plenty of money. Their marriage is rocked when Pax falls in love. The object of his desire is the Swan, a beautiful but down-at-heel wooden boat moored in the marina ten minutes walk from his office. Suddenly he is Master of the Swan, Thea has thrown him out of the bedroom and his brother-in-law's dazzling girlfriend has enticed him to sail too close to the wind in search of hidden treasure. Everyone has his daydreams. Some of us, like Pax Brown, try to live up to them. The outcome is hilarious and a new comic hero is born.This is a book with much original humour, a highly accomplished farce with plenty of sharply observed social detail and a fast-moving narrative pace to match its tight plotting.The Times Literary Supplement'a hilarious chronicle,' Manchester Evening NewsThis is a very funny first novel about the folly of trying to realise one's dreams. A witty, extremely entertaining read.'Woman's Journal

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in French and German and with an MBA from the INSEAD business school in France, John Mole spent fifteen years criss-crossing Europe and the Middle East for an American bank. He was based in the USA, London and Greece. He restored an old stone house on the island of Evia, which the family goes back to every year.

His fortieth birthday present to himself was to quit salaried employment. The main reason was to write full time. He reviewed the modern French novel and science fiction for the TLS. Published works include three comic novels - Sail or Return, The Monogamist, Thanks, Eddie! - and the best-selling guide to European cultures Mind Your Manners, currently available in twenty languages. Management Mole was about going back as a temp in the back offices of the kind of organisation he used to manage.

Meanwhile he tried his hand at various entrepreneurial ventures. An attempt to establish a franchised chain of baked potato restaurants in Moscow came to an end when the Russian Mafia became interested. He had more success with INBIO Ltd, which imported Russian biotechnology for environmental protection and with a project to control the spread of water weed on Tanzania's Lake Victoria. These ventures resulted in books such as It's All Greek To Me! and I was a Potato Oligarch.

He loves to travel, especially around the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Journeys have inspired The Sultan's Organ and The Hero of Negropont.

When not at the laptop he sings and plays the baglama, a miniature bouzouki, with a Greek band in London.