Grievous Bodily

by Craig Harrison

Grievous Bodily is a saga of infidelity, deceit, twarted lust and mad dogs, not to speak of grievous bodily harm with a cricket bat.

A sedate university community goes to pieces when two of its members make off with a cache of stolen money belonging to a gang of ruthless idiots. The most unlikely people are thrown together in spectacular fashion, the highlight of which is the case of the amazing exploding pudding.

With unerring bad taste, the author who emptied New Zealand with The Quiet Earth now fills it with fractious people and fires salvoes of exploding blancmange at them.

253 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Craig Harrison is a fiction writer, playwright, and teacher. He has written several novels, short stories, plays, satirical works, and television comedies. His well known science fiction novel, The Quiet Earth, was published in 1981. Harrison has also written junior fiction, including The Dumpster Saga, published by Scholastic in 2007. His awards and prizes include the Elmwood Jubilee Prize, the J.C. Reid Award, and the NZ Theatre Federation prize. He came to New Zealand in 1966 to lecture in English at Massey University, where he remained until he retired.

Reviews

[Holly Kenyon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as it is set in New Zealand. For no other reason. However I am rather glad I did. It is a smart little comedy with some memorable characters, each as horrid and disfunctional as the last!
It holds up well for it's age as it has a timeless feel to it.
It makes for a very visual read and you can't help but see it play out a comedy drama made for TV as you read.
Easy and not taxing but an enjoyable farce all the same.