The will says that Girly, Joe Soaps daughter, stays with her guardian, Squadron Leader Not-the-Daddy. Joe Soap is naturally interested in Girlys future, so he gets to see her occasionally. doesnt he?

Not so. And theres the rub: Fatherhood denied, Daddy locked out, and the forces of Law and Order neatly arrayed to frustrate and defeat Joe with their hideous abuse of. Language.

Russell Tarrants second foray into the philosophy of language seizes on the immorality of the non-believer - a Platonist idea subsumed into Christianity - to investigate his predicament and that of those consigned to...

Russell Tarrant's latest linguistic tour de force takes us into England's heart of darkness - Andover, to be precise - and opens up a seething tin of maggots: town hall cronyism, back room deals, expedience morality, self-serving decisions, hollow words and editorial boot-licking. The kernel is the War Memorial, erected to honour Andover's fallen in two world wars. The husk is the Memorial Hospital, about to be sacrificed to the money-god and sold. The nut is 'Joe Soap' - citizen, artist and agitator. The author blends a surrealistic approach (Dali) with political philosophy (Plato) to...