Skios

by Michael Frayn
This is a very easy read. It is also very amusing, and farce par excellence.
Dr. Norman Wilfred arrives on a Greek island to give an important lecture to a gathering of the rich and famous. Arriving at the same time is the rakish Oliver Fox. With a mix up over a suitcase and an innocent smile, a whole train of mistaken identity and mayhem ensues.
Michael Frayn seems able to take things to where they cannot get worse and then makes them worse in an almost plausible way.
Even when the end looms and you feel that you must be let down, a piece of nimble linguistic footwork brings things to an enjoyable, if improbable ending.
I read it in a weekend during two train journeys and it almost demands to be read in a short time frame. On the beach maybe-but do check your suitcase labels! 9/10