…and a lot of other things in between. Tony Parsons’ new book can be viewed as a collection of personal opinions on various issues with lots of biographical references thrown in. He explores a range of topics, from the mid-life crisis myth to dying, from the feel of fake breasts to getting fit and staying in shape, from dealing with a parent’s death to finding happiness.
Does it sound like one of those self-help books? It really isn’t. This book could be the answer to a (far from simple) question: what ails the modern man? Is it the thought of failure, both career-wise and sexual, is it nostalgia for the long gone experiences of childhood, anger at how things have changed, a feeling of regret for a past marriage? All this and more is talked about and examined and dissected in under 300 pages.
While many of the things may be familiar to the reader, the author manages to combine just the right amount of British humour with sarcasm and some inspirational stories to make the reading of this book an enjoyable experience. And while reading about football and cars and politics isn’t exactly my cup of tea, the author’s point of view did not make me want to skip a few pages ahead. Quite the contrary. The book has the ring of an honest and straightforward story of a man who has been through some tough times, survived and learned a few important lessons, a man still trying to make sense of the world around him, just like we all do. Maybe that’s what makes the book so readable and entertaining and fun.
*Read in September 2011
Sounds like an entertaining read. Tony Parsons sounds familiar – isn’t he a columnist? When you said a collection of personal opinions it made me wonder if it was a warmed-up version of some columns. But sounds as if the book hangs together well, and I see from your Goodreads widget that you’re reading another of his books now so looks as if you enjoyed this one. I guess with something like this it comes down to how well the person writes – that’s what makes you care about his opinions. I’ll have a look at it, maybe on the long bookshop browsing expedition I have planned 🙂 Thanks for the review!
Hi Andrew,
He is a British columnist but I haven’t read any of his columns. My guess is that he took issues he dealt with in his other books and put them together in this one. Probably topics from his columns as well. Sort of like summing things up, non-fiction way. I was surprised to see that some of the ideas from “Men from the Boys” have been transplanted word by word in this book.
And you are right, many times it’s not the “what” it’s the “how”.
Have fun on your bookshop browsing expedition!
Wonderful review, Delia! From your review, Tony Parsons’ book looks quite interesting. It is interesting that Parsons covers so many diverse topics in his book in a seamless way. Thanks for introducing this interesting book and writer to us 🙂
It is an interesting read, and I got to learn some new British words too (I had no idea what a “yob” was, for example :)). A non-fiction book, entertaining even if a bit aggressive here and there.
This sounds like it could be a fun little read … and enough topics that if you don’t like one thing, it will quickly switch to something else.
That’s exactly what I did, even though in the end I read all of it, I started with the parts I thought would be more interesting.