When I lost some dearly beloved close relatives to Cancer, I vowed to get my revenge! And the best revenge is: 1. Satire; 2. Money to Cancer Research! Sally's Road is a sad, funny, funnily sad excursion into suburbia in a modern housing estate in the Midlands of dear old England. Sally is a young teacher, recently married to the dullard Graham, aching for excitement and a new life - aspirations which are clouded by the fact that she has Hodgkin's disease, an aggressive and persistent form of cancer. In Spireslea, she is surrounded by what at first seem to be a crushingly boring selection of aspiring middle-class posers, eccentric grand dames, fake majors ('he was a sergeant major actually', according to the nasally impaired postmaster) and has no other companion than her faithful diary. Archers fans or lovers of Tom Sharpe's books may recognise the types! As the book unfolds she begins to realise that the locals are each in the midst of complex and fantastic lives, which encroach on her solitary world in a bizarre desire to take it over...Gradually as the cancer gains in strength so does Sally, especially after young Annie - tousled, tomboyish and tangled up in her own story of kidnap, murder and brothers called Peverill - comes tumbling over the garden fence and changes her life. The adventures of these two mismatched co-conspirators take them into an international plot to steal a drug from a research facility in Omaha Nebraska, via plots of murder, rape and theft in a furious struggle against that biggest foe of all - cancer. There is a great deal of fact and experience behind this novel. Many of the details are real, only names and characters have been changed.... ROYALTIES IN AID OF CANCER RESEARCH
About the Author: Jon Elkon was born in South Africa and has been living in the UK for many years. When he first arrived as a refugee from Apartheid, he spent some time on the streets. Eventually he became a student of Marketing and sold many useless things to people at prices they couldn't afford, as do most people in Marketing. At heart he was a Good Guy, so he wrote satirical books about the evils of Apartheid and marketing and the whole shebang. His first Novel, Umfaan's Heroes was published by Andre Deutsch to enthusiastic reviews from, amongst others, Hillary Mantel and Margaret Forster. This enabled Jon to escape Marketing and do decent things, like teaching. His second novel, Laszlo's Millions, helped him to establish a reputation for good quality humorous/serious writing. Both books are now available in paperback. Sally's Road has been available for a while in Kindle format, under the title the Fifth Estate. However when that excellent title was stolen by a less-than excellent film, Jon decided to release the novel as a paperback with the title Sally's Road. Besides, Mother can't use a Kindle. The book is a huge departure from his previous style. While still satirical at its heart and containing a rich vein of humour, the novel has an element of pain. It is really about Sally's cancer and is a response to the death of his favourite Aunt from that disease. While Jon was literally holding her hand. Jon continues to produce short stories, poetry and two novels are burning away on the back burner. He has earned prizes for his poetry and is still resisting every attempt by some of those who have read the stuff to publish. What the hell. Maybe. Under a different name, say, Zac Goldsmith or Boris Johnson to besmirch their reputations for ever. Prepare, world, for the next two novels. One is about a gay vigilante, the other is about castration. And no, they are not connected. But they are probably very funny.