Gone Girl meets Nick Hornby with a dash of The IT Crowd on the side. One of the smartest, funniest, wittiest novels of the year.
We join the action just as our ‘hero’ Tom, (early thirties, reads the ‘news’ on the radio) finds out that his girlfriend has NOT left him.
Tom,
I have not left you. But I am gone.
Please carry on as normal.
Love always,
Hayley
Has Hayley gone or hasn’t she? Is she coming back? If she has gone, but is coming back, when is she coming back? And what is he supposed to bloody do in the meantime?
And what if she’s never coming back??
Trying to work out what’s happening to his confusing life, Tom tries to track Hayley down. In doing so, he stumbles across a strange and eccentric group of people with an irregular and highly-addictive hobby.
Next, he’s being followed, but he’s not sure by whom. And then he also almost loses his job at the radio station in the now infamous ‘Jam Nazi’ episode, which of course, you know about.
Above all, Tom is trying to work out who everyone is.
Because who is Hayley? Who is this new girl following him around the supermarket?
And who, for that matter, is TOM DITTO?
Review
I have tried to read almost all of Danny Wallace’s books, and have failed every time, despite loving the concept of both his debut fiction novel, and his non-fiction books. I have no idea why this is, I like the writing style and his humour, but every time I can’t seem to keep myself interested for the whole book. However, I thought I would give this one a go, and I don’t regret it for a second.
Tom is instantly a likeable character, heartbroken over the disappearance of his girlfriend, which soon turns into frustration and anger as he discovers more and more about why she left. Along his journey to discover why Hayley left he meets a group of people, who do something he find bizarre, but one particular member of the group, Pia, becomes a great ally in his time of need. Pia is absolutely wonderful, a little crazy, but in a good way, and the exact type of person Tom needed to help deal with his issues.
I also really liked the whole radio team. Pippy was funny because of her constant hash-tagging everything, Leslie with his constant ranting, the whole team was a great dynamic.
I really enjoyed the whole book, heart-warming, funny and a bit bizarre. I was really surprised by the ending, there were hints about it, but I was of the opinion that the obvious would happen, and it didn't, which was really great. I must now dust off all my other Danny Wallace books and get onto reading them!
We join the action just as our ‘hero’ Tom, (early thirties, reads the ‘news’ on the radio) finds out that his girlfriend has NOT left him.
Tom,
I have not left you. But I am gone.
Please carry on as normal.
Love always,
Hayley
Has Hayley gone or hasn’t she? Is she coming back? If she has gone, but is coming back, when is she coming back? And what is he supposed to bloody do in the meantime?
And what if she’s never coming back??
Trying to work out what’s happening to his confusing life, Tom tries to track Hayley down. In doing so, he stumbles across a strange and eccentric group of people with an irregular and highly-addictive hobby.
Next, he’s being followed, but he’s not sure by whom. And then he also almost loses his job at the radio station in the now infamous ‘Jam Nazi’ episode, which of course, you know about.
Above all, Tom is trying to work out who everyone is.
Because who is Hayley? Who is this new girl following him around the supermarket?
And who, for that matter, is TOM DITTO?
Review
I have tried to read almost all of Danny Wallace’s books, and have failed every time, despite loving the concept of both his debut fiction novel, and his non-fiction books. I have no idea why this is, I like the writing style and his humour, but every time I can’t seem to keep myself interested for the whole book. However, I thought I would give this one a go, and I don’t regret it for a second.
Tom is instantly a likeable character, heartbroken over the disappearance of his girlfriend, which soon turns into frustration and anger as he discovers more and more about why she left. Along his journey to discover why Hayley left he meets a group of people, who do something he find bizarre, but one particular member of the group, Pia, becomes a great ally in his time of need. Pia is absolutely wonderful, a little crazy, but in a good way, and the exact type of person Tom needed to help deal with his issues.
I also really liked the whole radio team. Pippy was funny because of her constant hash-tagging everything, Leslie with his constant ranting, the whole team was a great dynamic.
I really enjoyed the whole book, heart-warming, funny and a bit bizarre. I was really surprised by the ending, there were hints about it, but I was of the opinion that the obvious would happen, and it didn't, which was really great. I must now dust off all my other Danny Wallace books and get onto reading them!
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Published by: Random House UK, Ebury Publishing
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.
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