Occam's razor

by Maureen Duffy

Tells the story of the friendship between two men, both widowers, both immigrants in London. One day Pears's son turns up, on the run from a paramilitary group he has been involved in. At the same time, Orazio's daughter looks to her father for help with racketeers threatening her business.

Genres: Fiction

278 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

Maureen Patricia Duffy (born 21 October 1933) is a contemporary British novelist, poet, playwright, nonfiction author and activist.

Duffy's work often uses Freudian ideas and Greek mythology as frameworks.[1] Her writing is distinctive for its use of contrasting voices, or streams of consciousness, often including the perspectives of outsiders. Her novels have been linked to a European tradition of literature which explores reality through the use of language and questioning, rather than through traditional linear narrative.[2] James Joyce in particular, and Modernism in general, are significant influences on her fiction, as is Joyce Cary.[3] "Duffy has inspired many other writers and proved that the English novel need not be realistic and domestic, but can be fantastical, experimental and political."[1] Her writing in all forms is noted for her 'eye for detail and ear for language'[4] and "powerful intense imagery".[5]