Description
‘I read Roger Sander’s book earlier this year. It’s warm, funny and well-observed.’ – Jonathan Coe, (Costa award-winning author of Middle England)
‘Post-Brexit-referendum Britain, male friendship, and later-life romance – this highly readable debut explores sweeping personal and political change.’ – Joanne Owen, editorial expert at LoveReading
Picked as LoveReading’s October 2022 Book Club Recommendation!
David Tanner, ex-journalist born at the fag end of the baby boomer years, and mates, Alan, Eric and Charlie, dissect the news at Ted’s Cafe.
Ted’s Cafe is the only place left open the men visited in their youth; a cafe founded by a Greek Cypriot and his son, who fled post-referendum, and now run by Jasiek and Danka, a Polish couple not sure of their future in a polarised Britain.
David’s story follows post-work life with more upheavals and surprises than he expected. He reflects on the special relationship he has with his friends. They talk about the past, are bewildered by the present and unsure of the future in unprecedented times of change and upheaval.
Can David find love again when he discovers his wife has been keeping a secret that could end their marriage? Will he learn to be happy in retirement and make sense of an uncertain post-Brexit future with coronavirus on the horizon?
Reviews
‘I read Roger Sander’s book earlier this year. It’s warm, funny and well-observed.’
Jonathan Coe, Costa award-winning author of Middle England
‘Roger Sanders’ Ted’s Café might be summarised in two words – “All change!” It’s a politically charged debut that will chime with Britons who experienced the Brexit referendum, especially remainers who mourn the loss of EU membership. At the same time, Ted’s Café takes in change of a personal nature — retirement, and later-life lust and love — alongside things that never change. Namely, the friendship between the group of men who lie at the novel’s heart. Men of a certain age will undoubtedly relate to the themes and relationships explored in this honest character-driven novel that has page-turning pace and plenty of heart and humour.’
Joanne Owen, editorial expert and reviewer at LoveReading
‘Roger Sander’s debut novel is a fascinating chronicle of those chaotic times just before the first lockdown. An expert mix of the personal and the political, it’s a bit Jonathan Coe’s Middle England, a bit Kingsley Amis’s The Old Devil’s for a later generation.’
Patrick Kincaid, author of The Continuity Girl
Making Waves
Island Echo – Roger’s Idea Becomes Reality as Brexit-Themed Book ‘Ted’s Cafe’ is Published
Isle of Wight Observer (page 6) – New Brexit book was a ‘labour of love’
On The Wight – The division of Brexit a dominant theme in new book by Islander
LoveReading October 2022 Book Club Recommendation
