this is one of those classic comedy books that are so endearing to read. it focuses on a number of unmarried men, who all choose to spend their lives in different ways. every page is threaded with dry humour which is impossible to look away from.

the two most notable characters are ronald, an epileptic graphologist, and patrick, who is a spiritualist and a fraudulent man intent on bringing down everyone he meets for the good of his own future. 

the juxtaposition between these two men is entertaining in and of itself; patrick seems to be a caricature of ronald, and a symbol of all that ronald could become if he let go of his morals. the only difference between them is their spiritualism.

the most notable similarity is that they both appear to have seizures often, except from the fact that one is medically caused, and the other is complete fakery. patrick preys on those who have lost family members, or people brainwashed by his actions of “love’, and uses them to gain money for his business - most notable is freda flower.

this charming little novel centres around a court case which ms flower brings against patrick, attempting to imprison him for forgery and, therefore, theft of her life savings. patrick is convinced that he will win the case and once again escape the prison system, even going as far as to plan the murder of his current girlfriend. he does not want to help souls with spirituality; he wants to take them away forever. his self-absorbency is palpable. 

this is a criticism of having a lack of faith, yet still being so enthusiastically bound to something that we know is not true. the brainwashing of ourselves, not even of others, is something that we should all be aware of, since it can quickly become narcissism. nothing should be held as gospel, and the actions of people should always take precedence over their philosophy.