Cherry [Paperback]

'There is more than a whiff of Stepford Wives about Thorne's creepy little tale...The author's spare, matter-of-fact style... is well suited to this depiction of self-abnegation and delusion.' (TIMES (17.9.05) )

'A sinister Borgesian game uncoils whose denouement is cleverly obscured until the final pages.' (OBSERVER )

'The novel unexpectedly develops into a kind of paranoid thriller, as Steve finds out what he's capable of doing for love. Its open ending and Thorne's dispassionate prose allow you to read it as either a simple morality tale...or, more rewardingly, a study in sexual obsession and paranoid delusion.' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY (25.9.05) )

'This tale of a teacher whose love life takes a surreal turn when he meets an old man is dark and addictive.' (HEAT (1-7 October) **** )

'The perils of sexual fantasy furnish Matt Thorne with the theme for this satire-cum-thriller.' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (9.10.05) )

'There are impressive touches, and Thorne is very good on peculiarly male characteristics and interests: boredom, sex, sleep and emotional detachment.' (Jerome de Groot GUARDIAN (15.10.05) )

'Thorne's smartly written novel has fun with a full complement of modern anxieties about relationships and sex.' (INDEPENDENT (28.10.05) )

'The perils of sexual fantasy furnish Matt Thorne with the theme for this satire-cum-thriller.'

'A sinister Borgesian game uncoils whose denouement is cleverly obscured until the final pages.'

'Thorne's smartly written novel has fun with a full complement of modern anxieties about relationships and sex.'

A dark departure for Matt Thorne's new novel. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Intriguing love story.' **** --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'the plot...is a mixture of noirish thriller and Borgesian fantasy.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Cherry...is a page-turning urban adventure with a strong cinematic feel.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Underachieving 33-year old Steve meets the perfect woman. But she's just a little too perfect, causing Steve to wonder whether he's made a pact with the devil. Thorne has finally delivered a gem.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Reading CHERRY is like looking at a photograph of an everyday scene or identifiable face taken slightly out of focus. Everything in the picture maybe recognisable, but at the same time that slight loss of perfect definition renders everything altered or suspect or 'wrong'. It is that distance - the carefully calculated breadth between the normal or the known and the disconcerting or the unknowaable - that gives this novel its strength.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Steve Ellis is rather bored with his life. His job is unexciting, he hasn't had a girlfriend in years, and now his bedroom ceiling is caving in. Then he meets a man in a pub who asks him about his perfect woman. Of course, Steve thinks this is all a joke and describes his fantasy right down to the very last, and very idiosyncratic detail including her name - Cherry. So when Cherry not only appears, but fulfils Steve every desire and whim, Steve is confused, taken aback, but also deliriously happy. But such happiness comes with a price. When you meet a man in a bar and he arranges for you to fall in love there's bound to be some strings attached. Some people will do anything for love . . .

Matt Thorne lives with his wife in Stoke Newington. He is a full-time writer and book reviewer.