''Skios'' is a 2012

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literar ...

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

. The novel was published in May 2012 by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

in the UK and by

Metropolitan Books Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

the following month in the US. It centres on a group of individuals on the fictional Greek island of Skios.

Synopsis

When it's announced that the keynote address of an influential foundation will be given by Dr. Norman Wilfred, everyone expects him to live up to his reputation as being an intimidating man with a dry personality. Much to everyone's surprise, Wilfred is not only charming but is also young and handsome – much to the delight of foundation organizer Nikki. However at the other end of the island Nikki's friend Georgie is trapped with a rather unpleasant individual... who also goes by the name of Dr. Norman Wilfred and has lost everything he owns other than a lecture on his speciality, scientometrics.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Skios'' has been mixed, with a reviewer for the ''Guardian'' criticizing the characters as "bland" and "by-the-numbers". Common criticisms of the book included negative comparisons to Frayn's earlier works and skepticism over the idea of mistaken identity "in the age of Google images". Praise for ''Skios'' centered on the book's usage of the "niceties of class" and lightheartedness.

References

{{reflist, 2 2012 British novels Novels by Michael Frayn Novels set in Greece Novels set on islands Faber and Faber books