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Bad day at the office? Hate your colleagues, loathe your boss, dislike your partner and not entirely sure if you like yourself? Such is the life of Arthur Pendleton, a man who must also cope with the crowning misfortune of living in Coventry. One day, faced with a personality test, a slobbering dog and an unhygienic workmate who refuses to answer the phone, Arthur flips, lobbing the office photocopier through the window.

It‘s at this point that bestselling author Jenny Colgan abandons light satire for something a little more fantastical. Arthur’s personality test answers result in him being asked to assemble a team to promote Coventry as European City of Culture and, during consultation with the company psychologist, he discovers he’s the direct descendent of King Arthur. Sadly, his department's budget of £16m has been swallowed to pay for the photocopier repair (it was a weekend call-out). Even more sadly, this is Working Wonders’ best gag. The rest of the novel is neither funny nor inspiring and it‘s certainly not intelligent enough to use the King Arthur subplot to good effect.

Colgan writes in stabbing, predictable chunks of prose, welding waffly characters to a wonky plot. She manages to work in a few fun episodes involving jousting knights and evil bureaucrats, and if you're looking to switch off and digest a book that‘s as bland as grass and as literary as daytime TV, Colgan's your woman. If you want a novel that soars with ambition, roars with passion and doesn't have an utterly duff ending, steer well clear. (James Smart)

Jenny's latest is as bland as grass

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