Alternatives

Terry is an old-school macho figure who runs a hotel in Hampstead by his own rules. His views on women are sexist, he has a taste for pornography, and his language is outrageous, as is his approach to raising his children. Even so, he is a loyal friend and mentor to the immigrant families who rent rooms from him. His son tells both his father's story and his own, and the two lives could hardly be more different. The son goes looking for other ways to live.

The narrative covers the son's childhood, including bullying at school and the stress of the eleven-plus exam. It then moves to his years as a so-called hippy, when he tried out a range of alternative lifestyles through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The book goes on to his work as a English language teacher (TEFL), where the drama and humour continue. It also offers a look at local history, customs and everyday colloquial Spanish in the Canary Islands and Granada, including the thirteen years he spent living in a cave house in Granada.

The author promises that the book will shock, surprise, amuse and inform, and may also stir readers' own memories. Often these reactions will come all at once, though the mix will depend on the reader.