Beware! Killer Tomatoes

Jeremy Strong

Puffin

0141320583

Jan 2007

‘Anyhow, I must have clipped the edge of the pyramid and it toppled over. The whole thing, thousands of tines of tomatoes. They came crashing down. It was horrible!’

With characteristic good humour and seeming irreverence, Jeremy Strong’s latest novel, ‘Beware! Killer tomatoes’ introduces Jack, a hapless individual whose catalogue of disasters include sitting upon the prongs of a fork ‘ ouch! ‘ swallowing a coin ‘ dangerous! ‘ and, most recently, crashing his bike into a parked car. These mishaps are affectionately termed by his family, Jackcidents.
Belying his most recent Jackcident is the real worry that Jack may unwittingly have killed somebody. His latest stay in hospital, accompanied by the clownish Liam and the surly Kirsty, is characterised throughout by the fear that police will come to arrest him.
The mechanics of observation chugging along beneath this narrative thrust and the comic means of its deliverance lend this ‘ and Strong’s other novels ‘ astute perception. Belying the sorts of question Jack has about the accident in the supermarket, is a character whose sense of self has been eroded by the type of comment made about him through familial influence.
A great warmth and affection arises through the parallels that are made as Jack’s broken leg gradually heals and he learns to walk again, and as his family and friends come to value the contributions he plays in their lives and the unique influence he holds. A subtle, clever book that inspires strength and inner resilience against all of our falls.