Mr Thundermug Cornelius Medvei Fourth Estate, 105pp, £10

The shadow of Saki hangs heavily over Cornelius Medvei's entertaining debut novella. Just as many of Saki's most diverting and successful short stories, such as "Bertie's Christmas Eve", revolve around the often violent clash between human propriety and the wilder, less civilised animal world, so Medvei imagines a strange city in which the mysterious Mr Thundermug is found on the street. Mr Thundermug is charming, articulate and erudite, and his English is impeccable. He is also a baboon.

There are some broad satirical sweeps taken at those who would attempt to "civilise" Mr Thundermug, such as the well-meaning headmistress who teaches him to read, but Medvei is largely uninterested in drawing grand allegorical inference from his tale of this very noble savage. Instead, he concentrates on the comic minutiae of Mr Thundermug's peculiar rituals and mankind's inability to deal with this stranger in its midst. There is a great deal of humour in the tale, but also a sense of poignancy as Medvei skilfully conveys Mr Thundermug's isolation from his mute wife and children. Hauntingly illustrated with Medvei's own lithographs, this is a promising first work from a distinctive talent.

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