The Satsuma Complex

By Bob Mortimer

*WINNER OF THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION 2023*

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
 
‘Funny, clever and sweet’– Sunday Times

‘The much loved comic proves adept at noirish fiction in a debut whose surrealist humour sets it apart’ – Observer

My name is Gary. I’m a thirty-year-old legal assistant with a firm of solicitors in London. To describe me as anonymous would be unfair but to notice me other than in passing would be a rarity. I did make a good connection with a girl, but that blew up in my face and smacked my arse with a fish slice.

Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.

And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to finally bring some love and excitement into his unremarkable life…

A page-turning story with a cast of unforgettable characters, The Satsuma Complex is the brilliantly funny smash hit first novel by bestselling author and comedian Bob Mortimer.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Jan 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398524316

Bob Mortimer

Bob Mortimer was born in Middlesbrough in 1959, the youngest of four sons. He trained as a solicitor before a chance encounter with Vic Reeves in the 1980s led to a successful career in comedy as half of duo Reeves and Mortimer. His screen credits include Shooting Stars, Big Night Out, Catterick and most recently BBC2's Gone Fishing. His memoir, And Away…, published in 2021. It became the bestselling memoir of the year, was named Times and Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for Non-fiction Book of the Year at the National Book Awards. The Satsuma Complex is his first novel. He's on Twitter and Instagram as @RealBobMortimer.