Daisy by J P Henderson
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Written in his own words, and guided by a man who collects glasses in a local pub, this is the story of Herod ‘Rod’ Pinkney’s search for Daisy Lamprich, a young woman he first sees on a decade-old episode of the Judge Judy Show, and who he now intends to marry.
When Daisy is located in the coastal city of Huntington Beach, California, he travels there with his good friend and next-door neighbour, Donald, a man who once fought in the tunnels of Cu Chi during the Vietnam War and who now spends most of his time in Herod’s basement. Herod is confident that the outcome will be favourable, but there’s a problem...
This hilarious book is J P Henderson’s fourth. Although Daisy has a strong story line, as summarised above, this is a journey where to travel joyfully is almost better than to arrive – but not quite. Henderson’s picaresque narrative style reminds me of The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, and I’m sure it would make an equally entertaining film. However, Allan Karlsson is a canny old codger. Herod S. Pinkney is more of an innocent abroad, but none the worse for that.
Because the humour of Daisy is refreshingly quirky, and because it’s fiendishly difficult to write about without dropping one reveal after another, in this review I’m going to share a selection of my favourite laugh-out-loud quotations. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Herod S Pinkey in his own words
Of his inherited wealth:
‘I couldn’t get used to being rich….I didn’t know how a man with money was supposed to behave.’
On his flirtation with religion:
‘I wished that Enid Blyton had written the Bible, because if she had, it would have been a lot easier to read and I’d probably have understood the adventures better.’
About his Peruvian friend:
‘He spoke English falteringly, as if the words he sought were coated in grease and forever slipping from his grasp.’
His description of a girlfriend:
‘Her complexion was the purest white, as though she was sickening for something and had just thrown up in a bucket.’
What he has to say about his new basement:
‘It is ironic, do you not think, that in a city synonymous with capitalism, upward mobility is now achieved by going downwards?’
Describing the builder who dug the basement:
‘….a man in his mid-fifties whose clothes were old friends rather than fashion statements.’
Commenting on his neighbour’s cold-blooded wife:
‘When you’re in love with a person, you don’t necessarily think to ask about hot-water bottles.’
Herod’s riposte to the parent of an over-talkative teenager:
‘I don’t want to worry you, but I think your son might be a plagiarist.’
Of American culture:
‘I think cats are probably less of a fashion statement in California, and it would be difficult tying one to a leash. I saw one woman with a dog in her handbag, and I can’t see a cat standing for that.’
Lastly my personal favourite, for name-related reasons:
‘I’d invited an old friend who was between husbands. Her name was Lorna Doom – if you can believe this – and she carried visiting cards in her purse that she handed to people whenever they got her name wrong: “My name is Lorna Doom and not Lorna Doone.” ’
What do I like about this book? ‘
Daisy’ made me laugh out loud all the way through. You don’t get many belly laughs to the pound, certainly not during a pandemic.
What would I change?
I found it disconcerting when, at intervals, sweet, adorable Herod lapsed into grumpiness. Other readers may think these sections are among the funniest.
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