Alice, as a mother, feels permanently panic-stricken at the terrors of the
modern world. She resolves to tackle her biggest worry of all: her daughter is
not going to fail that crucial secondary school entrance exam. Because Alice
has decided to take the test in her child's place. This is a satire on the
all-consuming madness of modern parenthood.'The other day there was a feature on the radio about the dangers of
asteroids falling from outer space. When David came home, he wanted to know why
the children were splashing around in the paddling pool wearing their cycle
helmets.' Alice never imagined that she would end up like this. Is she the only
mother who feels so permanently panic-stricken at the terrors of the modern
world - or is it normal to sit up in bed all night popping bubble wrap? She
worries that too much gluten and dairy may be hindering her children's mental
maths. She frets that there are too many cars on the road to let them out of
the 4x4. Finally, she resolves to take control and tackle her biggest worry of
all: her daughter is definitely not going to fail that crucial secondary school
entrance exam. Because Alice has decided to take the test in her child's
place... "May Contain Nuts" is a wonderful satire on the all-consuming madness
of modern parenthood; a compelling journey across divided inner-city
communities to a place, where normal people don't spend hundreds of pounds to
have their four-year-old's scribbles assessed for signs of genius or pay a
handyman to assemble their Kinder Egg toys.; With the comic eye for detail that has sent his books to the top of the
bestseller lists, John O'Farrell has produced a funny and provocative book that
will make you laugh, cry and vow never to become that sort of parent. And then
you can pass it on to your seven-year-old, because she really ought to be
reading grown-up novels by now...
