Centre stage in Angela Carter's unruly tale of the Flower Power
Generation is Joseph - a decadent, disorientated rebel without a cause.
A self-styled nihilist whose girlfriend has abandoned him, Joseph has
decided to give up existing. But his concerned friends and neighbours
have other plans.
In an effort to join in the spirit of protest which motivates his
contemporaries, Joseph frees a badger from the local zoo; sends a turd
airmail to the President of the United States; falls in love with the
mother of his best friend; and, accompanied by the strains of an old
man's violin, celebrates Christmas Eve in a bewildering state of sexual
discovery.
But has he found the Meaning of Life?