Book review: the book, the film, the t-shirt by Matt Beaumont

Front cover description: ‘a very funny book about very stupid people’

Actually…

No.

I laughed once during this book (top of page 139 if you’re interested).

But don’t think I didn’t like it.

I did.

I loved it – really!

It’s clever and very well written – and I can like and admire cleverness and good writing when I see it.

I loved the cleverness of the names, to give two examples:
1. A character called Norman The Cook (who my head instantly renamed ‘Fatboy Slim’).

2. Greg Fuller, owner of half of an Ad Agency. The balance of the company is owned by Max Scheidt (and the agency is called Fuller Scheidt, geddit?)

I also loved the cleverness of the telling:
Alternate scenes are told through the eyes of a different character. The resultant story comes from the minds of nine different narrators.

See what I mean?

Clever.

The dialogue is good.

The stupid characters are stupidly believable.

The not-stupid characters are very realistic.

And, on the whole, likeable.

It’s just not the corset-tearingly funny novel that the blurb would have you think the book is going to be.

And while I’m talking about appearances not living up to expectations…

I’d advise Matt Beaumont to get his photo changed.

Doesn’t he know that the only balding, middle-aged men who sport two day’s growth and wear a huge ear-ring in one ear are commonly called ‘W*nkers’?

So there we are then.

the book, the film, the t-shirt by Matt Beaumont – who may or may not be a w*nker.

A not particularly funny romp through ad-land and commercial-land.

But well written and cleverly constructed.