Buy Perking the Pansies

"An entertaining story, told with wit and insight."

"For the general reader, the book’s originality lies more in its honesty about the grubby reality of expat life that conventional travel literature prefers to gloss over. While it makes for comical reading, this picture of right-wing Brits putting down roots abroad will have some readers hanging their heads in shame."

"An insightful tale of life abroad from the pen of a serial people watcher. Expat Jack lays his characters bare along with his heart and soul."

"Hilarious, saucy, witty, heartwarming and incredibly moving."

"It’s a good account of the light and shade of an off-the-wall expat lifestyle, told in a fast-paced and highly amusing way."

"And it’s not so far-fetched that the book could find its way to a movie deal: according to the author’s biography, the memoir started as an irreverent blog and became a book only because a growing worldwide audience clamoured for it. Who knows, they might clamour for a movie next."

"Scott pulls no punches. A good read from the new boy on the block."

"Perking The Pansies is not so much about Jack’s Adventures Through The Looking Glass, but more about Who He Found There – a refreshing change from the many memoirs whose authors are constantly center-stage."

"Although this is Jack Scott’s first book, he’s a wonderful raconteur and writes like a seasoned author."

"With a sharp eye (and only sometimes a sharper tongue) and a deft and witty touch, he succeeds in homing in on the ludicrous, the contradictions, the conceits, and the dramas of an unlikely mixture of Brits and other Europeans sharing the same small places on a small peninsula on the Aegean."

"Throughout the book I was tittering, teary-eyed with sadness, nodding knowingly and saying, "I hear you, I hear you," to myself - and I'll even admit to a bit of sniggering, too. It's a lot of mixed emotion to go through over the process of reading a few pages and that's what makes the book such a good read. And, as I was reading the book, I couldn't help but think the characters, events, drama, comedy, sadness - they're all just shouting out to become Perking the Pansies, the TV series."

"Loved it! Jack Scott has penned a memoir of which to be proud. Exquisitely written, utterly candid, beautifully descriptive and observant, this is a balanced narrative that features belly-laugh humour and poignancy in satisfying juxtaposition. Jack's integrity shines through, as does the love and respect that he and hubby Liam have for each other. In summary, a delightful read that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend."

"I just read the book cover to proverbial cover as I could not put it down. I laughed and cried and adored the verve and jauntiness with which you wrote about the experiences."

"One of the things that distinguishes Jack’s book from others in the genre is his unique voice, which jumps right off the page. That dry, British humor was so entertaining that at times I felt like I was reading a lost Oscar Wilde play. So I literally (yes, I mean literally) laughed out loud at the point when Jack uttered the line, Yes, Lady Bracknell, a handbag!"

"The book includes a list of colourful characters, British and Turkish...almost Dickensian in their eccentricity, humour, melancholy, self-delusion, kindness and casual cruelty. There is heartlessness and tragedy here but also a generosity of spirit and a positivity, along with a dogged determination to see the best in humanity.
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"The book is written in a conversational style that made me think of sitting down with a close friend and listening to a lot of wacky and (occasionally) bittersweet stories."

"A really excellent book. Funny and insightful and poignant all at once."

"It's like Scott's perpetually dipping into his wallet to buy the next round."

"Empathetic, respectful and pretty acute."