Corkscrew is a standalone novel and one filled with comedy
and farce about the wine tasting and buying industry.
Felix Hart is a rogue and a scoundrel and it comes as no
surprise that he is being questioned for dubious practices. But as with all
stories, the tale must be told from the start. So begins a tale about how Felix
was kicked out of school for ‘spreading his wild oats too liberally’ and being
introduced to the world of wine. Felix soon learns how to manipulate the people
and the system and works his way up to being a buyer for a large chain of
stores. As he becomes set to offer the biggest Asti Spumante deal in history,
he finds himself embroiled in some crazy schemes taking him to many places all
over the world. Added to that we have his test to become a Wine Minstrel and
the secret powder he had mixed in South Africa. By all accounts, Felix shouldn’t
be alive with what he has put his body through. Yet here he is at the start of
a new adventure.
You have to suspend all belief when you take this story on.
Just put aside preconceived notions about what alcohol does to the body, what
animals in the bush do and do not do and about the sucking effects of sunken
toilets. If you can look past that you will literally laugh out loud as you
enjoy this book. Sometimes you need something in life like this that will take
you away from reality and just have a good laugh. Since I’m from South Africa
and can understand the Afrikaans use in the book, I was often in tears at some
of the things said. As much as Felix was actually a terrible person, I enjoyed
his character so much I wanted him to get away with everything he got himself
involved in! He seemed to genuinely believe that nothing he ever did was wrong
or really his fault.
I highly recommend this book as a light-hearted read filled
with fun, craziness and lots and lots of alcohol.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.
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