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Loading... This Is Your Life (2002)by John O'Farrell
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This book reminded me of Mike Gayle and in some respects even Hornby in a way that I'd call it the male equivalent of Chick Lit. It's about men whose life didn't turn out as they'd hoped it would and who take desperate measures in order to rectify it as they approach their mid-thirties. This one wasn't as funny or well written as Hornby, but it kept me going because I wanted to find out what happens on stage after the story jumps back to the events that lead up his situation at the beginning. The middle part is funny but predictable enough and as always with those novels I couldn't help but feel annoyed at the main characters and how bad they get before they get better.. Jimmy Conway is a failure. Midway through his threescore years and ten, he's got nothing to show for his existence but a dead-end job teaching English to foreign students in Sussex. So when, out of the blue, an opportunity comes for him to rub shoulders with the rich and famous, Jimmy seizes it with both hands. Before he knows it, he's a household name, appearing in magazines, television advertisements and even in a guest spot on the variety show of the year. But how long can this bubble reputation last, given that he's famous for nothing at all...? O'Farrell has a moralist's glee for tackling liars and the debilitating effects of lies in his novels, yet he's never heavy or preachy. The writing's as effortlessly witty as ever, and here he widens his satirical net to capture the vacuity of contemporary celebrity culture. Anyone who's ever sighed in despair - or disgust - at the current crop of famous yet talentless mediocrities will love this book. no reviews | add a review
It's a big night at the London Palladium. As Jimmy Conway steps out blinking into the spotlights live on national television, he can't help wondering whether he should have perhaps shared his little secret with someone by now. Jimmy has never done any performing of any sort ever before...Just as 'bogus doctors' are occasionally discovered working in hospitals, Jimmy Conway has become a 'bogus celebrity'; winning an award for something he never did, being photographed in Hello! in someone else's house, and ultimately making a fool of the entire mad and shallow celebrity merry-go-round.JOHN O'FARRELL is an award-winning comedy writer whose credits include Spitting Image, Have I Got News for You, and The Peter Principle. He has written for the Guardian, Independent, Evening Standard and the New Statesman. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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