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Loading... Starter for Ten: A Novel (original 2003; edition 2007)by David Nicholls
Work InformationStarter for Ten by David Nicholls (2003) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. What you want may not what exactly you need. ( ) For most of this book I was on the verge of throwing it across the room and giving up. it is VERY uncomfortable, awkward, cringe inducing and nauseating. I managed to keep hold of the book, and finish it, probably as a result of it being incredibly well written, heartwarming story. I'm glad I did finish it otherwise it would have got 1* through no fault of its own, just my great aversion to second hand embarrassment. I have to be honest -- I saw "Starter for 10" (twice even!) before ever reading this book, and I wouldn't find it nearly as charming if I didn't have the mental picture of James McAvoy as the main character. ---------------------------------- "Because he's a third year, and because he's obviously got parents with money, Patrick seems to have got his life in some kind of semiadult order: proper, noninstitutional furniture, which he probably owns, a telelvision, a video, a living room which doesn't have a bed or a gas cooker or a shower in it. In fact, he's barely a student at all; everything in its place and a place for everything, like the living quarters of a monk, or a particularly fastidious serial killer" (69). "'I like the panda,' I say. Nicholls' creation Brian is awkward, arrogant, and still in the process of growing up. As a reader, you watch his social faux pas through your fingers. At times you simply want to give him a shake. Despite the fact that he believes he has learnt and matures by the end of the novel Nicholls does not give in and give us the Hollywood transformation. You'll still want to shakes some sense into when you hear his final words. It's the mid-80's, and Brian Jackson, a somewhat nerdy, "wanker" type is anxious to head off to university. Having lost his dad when he was on the cusp of adolescence, he hopes to do him proud by qualifying for the University Challenge TV quiz show. In the meantime, he tries to fit in at university, and when he meets the beautiful Alice, he's determined to win her over as more than just a friend. This was kind of a sleeper hit for me. It's one of Nicholls' lesser-known novels -- his first, actually. I devoured this book on audio in just a few days' time and was laughing out loud through a large portion of it. Brian's character can be annoyingly clueless sometimes, but some of the British dialogue and humor really was laugh-out-loud funny. The reader for this audiobook, Erik Steele, did a great job. This novel is also known by its British title, Starter for Ten, and I just realized there's a movie adaptation. Guess where I'm headed next?! no reviews | add a review
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Fiction.
Literature.
Romance.
Humor (Fiction.)
HTML: It is 1985 and Brian Jackson, a working-class kid on full scholarship, has started his first semester at university. In addition to his anxiety about his humble origins and whether or not he'll fit in, Brian harbors a dark secret: a burning, long-held, lovingly kindled ambition.... He wants to appear on the wildly popular TV quiz show University Challenge. When he finally makes the team and his dream comes true, life seems perfect, especially given his infatuation for a fellow teammate, the beautiful, brainy, and intimidatingly WASPy Alice Harbinson. But just when Brian thinks he has all the answers, he discovers that the question of attraction is the most mind-boggling of all.... .No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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