{"product_id":"bad-idea-robert-sheppard-9781912211746","title":"Bad Idea","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere are two ways of seeing this book. One: it is a homage to Michael Drayton's 1619 sonnet sequence, \u003cem\u003eIdea, \u003c\/em\u003e skilful transpositions into contemporary forms. Two: it tells the story of Brexit, as it passes through the body politic, the undigested cake and eat it of daily life. We read of the peccadillos and pet projects of the Brexiteers, the ineptitude of resistance. Expect comedy and chaos rather than analysis, 'how not to get the blues while singing the blues'. Drayton is both Renaissance man \u003cem\u003eand\u003c\/em\u003e man of resentment. His worshipped muse Idea is a tragic Scouse idealist caught in a satire nobody can quite control. 'The English Strain' of the sonnet tradition meets the dogging sites of post-Brexit Britain. You've got to laugh. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteve Spence wrote of an earlier part of Sheppard's sonnet project: 'These are sharp, spiky, satirical poems, full of scatological verve and menacing bite, meat to Sheppard's scathing pen, great fun to read, fully appropriate to the dark-age we now seem to be on the brink of living through.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeraldine Monk in \u003cem\u003eThe Robert Sheppard Companion\u003c\/em\u003e informs us: 'Sheppard's writing is rough, rude, quirky, serious, learned, and never afraid to be humorous. In short it is as irreverent as it is relevant.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Sheppard\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1912211742\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781912211746\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Knives Forks and Spoons\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/05\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 102\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.27h x 5.83w x 0.21d","brand":"Robert Sheppard","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48241546133759,"sku":"9781912211746","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_35ea2727-4ffa-4d83-9f89-0e8c22a7274b.jpg?v=1772654902","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/bad-idea-robert-sheppard-9781912211746","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}