{"product_id":"the-dice-was-loaded-from-the-start","title":"The Dice Was Loaded from the Start","description":"'Sharp, witty and seductive' Justin Myers  'Tremendous. An actually funny comic novel' Matt Greene'Spot on and brilliantly observed' Daily Mail'Bathed in wit and character, you'll find this a delicious read' East End Review'This is my favourite kind of novel' Cambridge IndependentIt is summer and Max has moved with his young family to a leafy North London street.   Their neighbours, a cosy crowd of Baby Boomers, think Max is a breath of fresh air. And he is both amused and enthralled by their drinks parties and card games, their houses bursting with bookish bric-a-brac. It is the kind of life Max might have wanted for himself were he not 42 and coming to terms with the fact that his career has stalled - and so has he.   Then eight politically minded Millennials start renting down the road. Painting the Boomers as the guilty public face of the generational battle of the haves and have nots, they make Max the key to fulfilling even bigger plans for disruption.   Trapped, and forced to make a choice, Max asks: does he want a shot at the settled certainties of bourgeois life, or a chance to rip it up and start again?Full of tenderness and humour, The Dice Was Loaded From The Start is a heartfelt, ultimately hopeful story about chance, choice and how we may yet bridge all that divides us.    'David Annand's brilliant comedy of manners is a Howards End for contemporary London. Funny, truthful and bracing' Neil Stewart 'An absorbing drama . . . Another fine writer of novels driven by social themes is very welcome' Bookbrunch'Enjoyable and largely well-observed tale of intergenerational conflict . . . Max himself is a poignant reminder of that lost period of 1990s optimism' TLS'A tender, thoughtful contemplation of generational divides, the housing crisis, and the fickle nature of art, ultimately succeeding through its granular inspection of the human spirit' Irish Times","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57504804372853,"sku":"9781472155887","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/the-dice-was-loaded-from-the-start","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}