POCOCK & PITT

by Elliott Baker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 1971

Pocock loses nothing but a Mongoloid son and his overweight manque archaeologist wife with thirteen warts when he decides to take a permanent vacation from life after waking up in a London hospital following his third ""myocardial infarction"" (caused by an infrequent ""night of bliss""). But a glimpse of Alethea Snow (she sings songs with a street beggar who is actually her rich uncle Herbert) convinces Pocock that life is still worth living, and, aided by a wily Greek named Kikyanos who sells everything from girls to passports, he gets himself a new name (Pitt) and a new ear (he left part of it in Alsace-Lorraine). Courtesy of the U.S. government and the Enoch Arden law (his wife needs proof of death for the insurance money), Pocock-Pitt becomes mixed up in V. H. Adderly's semi-eschatological search for the Russian agent who mangled his hand in the not-so-distant past. Many coincidences later, Pocock disposes of the remains of Western Civilization in the organ depository where he works and escapes with Alethea to Egypt, where he plants trees and makes love with his refurbished heart as often as he likes -- a grand denouement to this incredibly zany novel full of fun, freedom, and fantasia by the author of A Fine Madness.

Pub Date: Sept. 22, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION