Imagine you give a dinner party, and a friend brings a stranger to your house, who seems pleasant enough. But then he locks himself in one of your bedrooms, and refuses to come out. Imagine you can't move him for days, weeks, months. If ever. This is what Miles does, in a chichi house in the historic borough of Greenwich in the year 2009-10. Who is Miles, then? And what does it mean exactly, to live with other people? Now in paperback, this is the latest novel from the acclaimed author of }The Accidental{, and it is a warm and joyful read, fizzing with humanity and a love of language. 'A playfully serious or seriously playful novel full of wit and pleasure. Wonderful' }Observer{