Thanks Buddy; I'd gone wrong with 15 down and foolishly had clawed instead of claude, so the only answer I could get for 22a was seaquake. No wonder it didn't make any sense!
Sorry, I meant thank you Jafo! I agree that equate is a bit of a rubbish alternative for bracket, and that it'a not a great clue. Re 9a, although I"m fine with the answer, I thought the surface was terrible! I enjoyed the rest though.
I did enjoy this mainly because I had a lot to do and was able to finish it without too much trouble.
I did have to google the author but the wordplay was fine.
There were some terrible surfaces but 11d did make me chuckle when the penny dropped.
I was lucky with the author, I bought his book Norwegian Wood many moons ago. It came in a gold colured hard case and was split between a red book and a green one and, at one time, it was considered almost a fashion accessory by young Japanese kids. It was weird because a few days after I'd bought it Amazon contacted me and asked if they could buy it back, at a much higher price. I didn't sell it then but I did a couple of years ago when I was having a mass clear out.
Hi Brendan
I trust you read it in the meantime!
I'm very familiar with the Beatles song, it was my era.
The book looks very dark and sad.
I might read it one day but need something a bit more cheery in these gloomy days!