book cover of Second Best
 

Second Best

(2023)
A novel by

 
 
'It’s about time British readers discovered the wit and originality of David Foenkinos' Jonathan Coe, author of Bournville 

A magical imagining of the fate of a fictional boy whose life is shaped forever when he loses out on the role of Harry Potter.

It's 1999. Martin Hill is ten years old, crazy about Arsenal and has a minor crush on a girl named Betty. Then he makes it to the final two in the casting for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

In the end, the other boy is picked for the role of a lifetime. A devastated Martin tries to move on with his life. But how can he escape his failure, especially when it's the most famous film series in the world? 

Foenkinos’s smash-hit Second Best is a playful, poignant story about fate, loss and how the lives we wish we’d led might not be all they’re cracked up to be . . .




Genre: Literary Fiction

Praise for this book

"It's about time British readers discovered the wit and originality of David Foenkinos, and this exquisitely bittersweet comedy of life's missed opportunities is the perfect place to start." - Jonathan Coe


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