The Thought Gang

Described by the complete review as 'a metaphysical thriller, combining bank robbery and high philosophy',^[2] it tells the unlikely tale of Eddie Coffin, an unemployed, overweight, alcoholic philosophy professor who flees Britain for France where he meets Hubert, a one-armed, one-legged thief. They join forces and embark on a bank-robbing spree through France.

Although described by John UpdikeinThe New Yorker as 'a textbook example of an author outsmarting himself', other reviews were more positive.^[2] Booklist describes it as 'a rollicking good time' and goes on to say of the author: 'He puns his way through a text that manages to be as witty and erudite as the late novels of Nabokov and every bit as extreme and satiricalasPulp Fiction.^[3] The Nation argues that it is 'most notable for the effortless way Fischer integrates philosophy – pages and pages of it – into the flow of the narrative.^[3] According to The Times it 'deserves to become a cult novel of the 1990s'^[4] and the complete review concludes with 'a very fine novel indeed'.^[2]