Patrick -Pussy' Braden, resplendent in housecoat and headscarf, reclines in Kilburn, London, writing his story for his elusive psychiatrist, reawakening the truth behind his life and the chaos of long-ago days in a city filled with hatred. Twenty years ago he escaped his hometown, fleeing foster mother Whiskers and her mad household to begin a new life in London. There, in blousy tops and satin miniskirts, he plies his trade, often risking life and limb among the flotsam and jetsam that fill the bars of Piccadilly Circus. But suave businessmen and lonely old women are not the only dangers that threaten Pussy's existence. It is the 1970's and fear haunts the streets of London and Belfast as the critical mass of history builds and Pussy finds himself inevitably drawn into a malestrom of violence and tragedy destined to tear his fragile soul asunder.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 10/06/1999
ISBN: 9780060931582
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.39lbs
Size: 8.03h x 5.32w x 0.58d
Award: Man Booker Prize - Nominee
Award: Guardian First Book Award - Nominee

Review Citations: New York Times 11/28/1999 pg. 32
New York Times 12/05/1999 pg. 104
Library Journal 03/01/2005 pg. 127