The Little White Car
In 2004 Rhodes stunned the book world by pretending to be French. Changing his gender, calling himself Danuta de Rhodes and shaving several years off his age, he published The Little White Car. Here’s what people had to say about it:
Excellent… Beautifully written and very funny. Independent on Sunday
Hilariously funny in the flattest, most deadpan way possible. Daily Telegraph
A cracking good read – enjoy yourself. Daily Express
It’s fun and it’s funny. Washington Post
Fabulous – this is a very funny, very charming novel that we quite simply insist you read. Danuta is a very talented storyteller indeed. ***** Heat
A delightful romp of a book. New Startesman
Wonderfully fresh and witty. The Observer
Easy to read, neat and without a hair out of place, The Little White Car is an absolute pleasure. The List
Breezy, funny and charming. The Times
A brilliant (supposed) debut. (i-D)
In short, a gem. Irish Independent
A lean, mean hilarity machine. Entertainment Weekly
Shocking, awful, a contemptible waste of talent, time, money and effort. Bookmunch
ALL EDITIONS
Some of the editions below are published as Danuta de Rhodes, others are published as Dan Rhodes. By and large we’re going to let the pictures do the talking. Here goes…
UK, Canongate. ISBN: 1841956341
This is the current British paperback edition. A must buy for all your friends and family, and of course for yourself.
JAPAN, Chuokoron-Shinisa. ISBN: 4120036634
Another lovely Japanese edition. This hardback contains some really nice illustrations, including a definitive rendering of the book’s St. Bernard, César.
ITALY, Garzanti. ISBN: 8811683084
HUNGARY, Athenaeum. ISBN: 9639615064
UK, Canongate. Trade paperback. ISBN: 1841955280
NORWAY, Dinamo. ISBN: 8280711023
GERMANY, Kiepenheuer & Witsch. ISBN: 3462034227
CANADA, Penguin. ISBN: 0143017527
Elton John’s 1997 version of Candle In The Wind spent three years (yes, THREE YEARS) in the Canadian top twenty, including forty-five weeks (yes, FORTY-FIVE WEEKS) at number one. Conversely, The Little White Car mysteriously failed to make any kind of impression on our Canadian cousins. We can only assume this is down to some kind of conspiracy. It did, however, make Rhodes, albeit fleetingly, a Penguin author.
POLAND, Proszynski. ISBN: 8373379606
In Poland most people’s mothers are called Danuta. This lessens the glamour of the fake biography somewhat. Ah well.
CZECH REPUBLIC, Baronet. ISBN: 8072147331
US, Canongate. ISBN: 1841955892
Like the UK edition, only hardback. Nice.
RUSSIA, Amphora. ISBN: 5901582233
DENMARK, Tiderne Skifter. ISBN: 8779731678
Another winner from the legendary publisher Claus Clausen.
SPAIN, Alfaguara. ISBN: 842040179X
BRAZIL, Rocco. ISBN: 8532520049
NETHERLANDS, De Bezige Bij. ISBN: 9023418808
FINLAND, Sammakko. ISBN: 9524830116
THAILAND, Circle
THAILAND, Circle
That’s all for now – though maybe one day Editions Stock in France will FINALLY send Rhodes their edition of the book, but frankly we doubt it. You can only spend so many years of your life patiently requesting they put some books in a frigging jiffy bag. For crying out loud.
