Publisher's Synopsis
Donjong Heights is a darkly humorous mock-heroic tale of a young man's lost love and lost hope, written with Byronic wit and an impressive command of form.
Ben Borek is an exceptionally talented poet who demonstrates an impressive command of form. Donjong Heights, his debut, is an hilarious novel in verse set in South London, concerning the ill-fated physical and romantic health of its narrator and a Christmas party that goes awry. It is written in Onegin stanzas, after Pushkin.
...With ancient coins, not legal tender,
And dating back two hundred years
He tries, in vain, to pay for beers.
And with a wistful glint of eye
Remarks to John "That barmaid, Vicky,
She's always eager for a quickie,
John, why don't you give her a try?
I feel you need a youthful lover
And if not her, why not her brother?"
Ben Borek is a graduate of the creative writing MA at UEA and currently
lives in London.
Illustrated by Matt Croft and Natalie Fernandes at Illustration Zoo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/openbook/openbook_20071209.shtml
