The Coast of Everything by Guillermo Stitch
I thought it was a pun. The title. “You know the price of everything and the cost of nothing,” Lord Darlington quipped (or aphorised) in “Lady Windemere’s Fan”. Except he didn’t. He said: “You know the price of everything thing and the value of nothing.” Which means I wasn’t even slightly wrong. It’s an effective tautology. I’d misremembered the quote, misunderstood it’s meaning, and all to wedge a pun into the title of a book already swimming with, teeming with, elegant wordplay. Not for the first time this astonishing book made me feel like a proper ‘nana. Some quotes: “Brazen hintery.” Page 652 “One should never make assumptions when it comes to colour splash.” Page 402 “I don’t need to get into any kind of…villainy.” Page 393 “Even sitting on the floor of this Tetris canyon was vertiginous.” Page 349 ...
