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The Star Witness
‘If you know me atall, you will know me as a liar.’
Kevin Carver is ahousehold name. A popular TV soap star, he’s coasting through life in the samesemi-detached, slightly smug way he’s always done.
But when he callouslydumps his much younger girlfriend Jade over supper one evening, he makes thefirst in a series of catastrophic mistakes.
One poor decisionleads to another and soon his whole life begins to unravel. He finds himselfthe subject of vitriolic press attacks, a police investigation and so muchpublic loathing that he starts to wonder if he has any chance of receiving afair trial. As the line blurs between his own life and that of the character heplays on TV, Kevin is forced to confront a lifetime of inadequacy in order toredeem himself.
The Star Witness is the story of one man’s descent intodisgrace and his journey to rejoin the human race. This pin-sharp satire on theshallows of modern media culture will keep you laughing, cringing and guessinguntil the very last page.
Kevin Carver is ahousehold name. A popular TV soap star, he’s coasting through life in the samesemi-detached, slightly smug way he’s always done.
But when he callouslydumps his much younger girlfriend Jade over supper one evening, he makes thefirst in a series of catastrophic mistakes.
One poor decisionleads to another and soon his whole life begins to unravel. He finds himselfthe subject of vitriolic press attacks, a police investigation and so muchpublic loathing that he starts to wonder if he has any chance of receiving afair trial. As the line blurs between his own life and that of the character heplays on TV, Kevin is forced to confront a lifetime of inadequacy in order toredeem himself.
The Star Witness is the story of one man’s descent intodisgrace and his journey to rejoin the human race. This pin-sharp satire on theshallows of modern media culture will keep you laughing, cringing and guessinguntil the very last page.
331 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2016
About the author
Andy Hamilton
83 books10 followersAndy is comedy scriptwriter and performer. He regularly appears on QI and Have I Got News For You. His writing credits include Outnumbered, Drop the Dead Donkey, Not The Nine O'Clock News, Trevor's World of Sport and many others. He plays Satan in the Radio 4 comedy Old Harry’s Game that he also writes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 15, 2016
First a disclaimer of sorts. I was one of the people who crowdfunded this book via the excellent Unbound website. However, I have no pecuniary interest in the success of the novel and, if anything, having crowdfunded it rather raises my expectations when it comes to a review.
Andy Hamilton is obviously very well known as a comedian and panellist, and he is on safe ground in the first half of the novel as his narrator Kevin dispenses one liners ("As for the stuff about it being impossible to get sexually excited about kissing someone you don't really know in front of dozens of people ... two words: 'office' and 'party'.") and withering put downs to characters Hamilton himself as created. The latter feels at times like shooting fish in a barrel.
The first half passes at a fast and funny pace, albeit interrupted by a rather unnecessary trip to the Hebrides, which feels as if it belongs to a different novel (or newspaper travelogue).
The novel takes a very different turn as Kevin ends up in prison. As someone observes: "Kevin, it does seem to me that whenever the conversation tends towards something that makes you uncomfortable, your default setting is to crack a joke." That is actually not something of which one can accuse the author. As the novel ventures into more sensitive territory, if anything Hamilton errs a little on the mawkish rather than humorous side of the line.
But the characters Hamilton creates, and the journey his character goes on, are at times genuinely moving and this part showed much greater emotional depth.
Overall, a confident debut and a novel I am pleased to have helped bring into print.
Andy Hamilton is obviously very well known as a comedian and panellist, and he is on safe ground in the first half of the novel as his narrator Kevin dispenses one liners ("As for the stuff about it being impossible to get sexually excited about kissing someone you don't really know in front of dozens of people ... two words: 'office' and 'party'.") and withering put downs to characters Hamilton himself as created. The latter feels at times like shooting fish in a barrel.
The first half passes at a fast and funny pace, albeit interrupted by a rather unnecessary trip to the Hebrides, which feels as if it belongs to a different novel (or newspaper travelogue).
The novel takes a very different turn as Kevin ends up in prison. As someone observes: "Kevin, it does seem to me that whenever the conversation tends towards something that makes you uncomfortable, your default setting is to crack a joke." That is actually not something of which one can accuse the author. As the novel ventures into more sensitive territory, if anything Hamilton errs a little on the mawkish rather than humorous side of the line.
But the characters Hamilton creates, and the journey his character goes on, are at times genuinely moving and this part showed much greater emotional depth.
Overall, a confident debut and a novel I am pleased to have helped bring into print.
July 17, 2016
I thought this was an excellent book. Andy Hamilton is one of Britain's best comedy writers for the screen with a string of successes like Outnumbered and Drop The Dead Donkey on television and Old Harry's Game on Radio 4 among many others. Screenwriters, though, however good, don't always make good novelists – but Hamilton has produced a genuinely good novel here, which is readable, funny, insightful and genuinely touching in places.
The Star Witness is a kind of contemporary morality tale of fall and at least partial redemption, narrated in the first person by Kevin Carver, a hugely successful middle-aged soap star, who is accused of assaulting his young girlfriend (and fellow star). The inevitable "trial by media" and social media savaging follows, and the novel deals with Kevin's personal story through the subsequent developments – some of which are very unexpected.
Hamilton creates a cast of excellent, believable characters, and his dialogue is brilliantly authentic, of course. Kevin's internal narration is also very good as he begins as an arrogant, dismissive man with an inexhaustible supply of cynical responses (some of which are very funny) and then deals with the crisis which engulfs him. There is the mix of wit, intelligent social observation and real human insight which anyone familiar with Andy Hamilton's work will be familiar with. It's extremely readable with some laugh-out-loud moments and there are some excoriating portraits and brilliantly cynical one-liners and observations about contemporary culture. But, as always in Hamilton's work, there is compassion and kindness running through it and one scene quite late on where a minor character begins to sing genuinely had my eyes pricking with tears.
This is a funny, intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable book which also has some important things to say, in that way where you notice afterward rather than battering you over the head with Important Pronouncements. It's a great read and warmly recommended.
(I was kindly sent an ARC by the publisher.)
The Star Witness is a kind of contemporary morality tale of fall and at least partial redemption, narrated in the first person by Kevin Carver, a hugely successful middle-aged soap star, who is accused of assaulting his young girlfriend (and fellow star). The inevitable "trial by media" and social media savaging follows, and the novel deals with Kevin's personal story through the subsequent developments – some of which are very unexpected.
Hamilton creates a cast of excellent, believable characters, and his dialogue is brilliantly authentic, of course. Kevin's internal narration is also very good as he begins as an arrogant, dismissive man with an inexhaustible supply of cynical responses (some of which are very funny) and then deals with the crisis which engulfs him. There is the mix of wit, intelligent social observation and real human insight which anyone familiar with Andy Hamilton's work will be familiar with. It's extremely readable with some laugh-out-loud moments and there are some excoriating portraits and brilliantly cynical one-liners and observations about contemporary culture. But, as always in Hamilton's work, there is compassion and kindness running through it and one scene quite late on where a minor character begins to sing genuinely had my eyes pricking with tears.
This is a funny, intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable book which also has some important things to say, in that way where you notice afterward rather than battering you over the head with Important Pronouncements. It's a great read and warmly recommended.
(I was kindly sent an ARC by the publisher.)
February 18, 2018
This was a very entertaining read. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but there is wry humour as well as truly poignant moments in this drama. The book’s theme is personal responsibility and the morals of different groups within society, and the author brings a lightness of touch to serious issues. I didn’t want to put the book down and would have given it five stars except for a rather unsatisfying ending.
April 9, 2019
This was an incredibly entertaining read. I particularly like that the scenes in the prison, it was very cinematic and I could picture every scene. I also loved the characters which he developed. However they were characters which one would want to love. Kevin himself was a arrogant, self righteous actor who was quite unlikable. However he is truly humbled by his experience inside.
Derek is written so well, that I really hated him....enough said!
Derek is written so well, that I really hated him....enough said!
January 23, 2019
Absolutely loved this book! it is my read of 2019 so far! Hilarious
June 16, 2018
(note: the Andy Hamilton who wrote this novel is NOT the person described in the author profile … GoodReads seriously needs to reprogram to allow for differentiating between multiple authors who happen to have the same name). THIS is the Andy Hamilton who authored "The Star Witness"
I've been a longtime fan of Andy Hamilton via his BBC Radio shows "Old Harry's Game" and "Revolting People", plus very fond memories of catching a few episodes of "Drop the Dead Donkey" on TV long ago. So was happy to discover that he'd written a novel and was eager to read it.
And now I'm eager to read any other novel Andy Hamilton cares to write. "The Star Witness" wasn't anything like his radio shows (which are hilarious with deeply insightful serious underlayers) not that I expected that of him … the man's too versatile to just do the same thing over and over. Instead this work had the serious front and centre with moments of snark and self-deprecating and defensive humour from the main character … a quieter form of comedy interwoven into an larger fabric of a man whose going-through-the-motions life is suddenly turned upside-down and inside-out, and how this this upheaval at first flattens him into apathy and then slowly changes him for the better. We hope. There's an ambiguous at-a-crossroads ending and good on Mr. Hamilton for doing that because, really, I like books that don't spoonfeed me all the answers and instead leave things open for speculation and interpretation.
Definitely have to re-read this with knowledge of that ending because I know it's going to change a lot of my perceptions from the first in-ignorance reading.
I've been a longtime fan of Andy Hamilton via his BBC Radio shows "Old Harry's Game" and "Revolting People", plus very fond memories of catching a few episodes of "Drop the Dead Donkey" on TV long ago. So was happy to discover that he'd written a novel and was eager to read it.
And now I'm eager to read any other novel Andy Hamilton cares to write. "The Star Witness" wasn't anything like his radio shows (which are hilarious with deeply insightful serious underlayers) not that I expected that of him … the man's too versatile to just do the same thing over and over. Instead this work had the serious front and centre with moments of snark and self-deprecating and defensive humour from the main character … a quieter form of comedy interwoven into an larger fabric of a man whose going-through-the-motions life is suddenly turned upside-down and inside-out, and how this this upheaval at first flattens him into apathy and then slowly changes him for the better. We hope. There's an ambiguous at-a-crossroads ending and good on Mr. Hamilton for doing that because, really, I like books that don't spoonfeed me all the answers and instead leave things open for speculation and interpretation.
Definitely have to re-read this with knowledge of that ending because I know it's going to change a lot of my perceptions from the first in-ignorance reading.
August 21, 2017
Reading about the Unbound project in the introduction to this book, I was quite intrigued. It seemed like an ideal way to match literary ambition with audience demand, and to be fair, had I known about it I may well have supported this book myself. How very democratic. But then, in recent years, we've had salutory lessons in where democracy can take us.
The result in this case is a novel written by a scriptwriter. It's a comedy with tragic elements, something quite hard to pull off, and regrettably here the two things don't quite gel. The plot swerves about like a car with a drunk at the wheel (and no brakes!) and potentially funny and moving scenarios tend to miss their mark.
Characters who should be central to the story have walk-on parts, and the prison-bound sub-plot, which doesn't really go anywhere, feels like a massive distraction.
Every so often the "star witness" of the title breaks in on the story, but the novel overall isn't really about him.
I've liked Andy's work for years and had high hopes for this, but it's left me less enthusiastic about the crowd funding thing. Perhaps the pressure of ordinary readers putting the money up might actually get in the way of good writing.
The result in this case is a novel written by a scriptwriter. It's a comedy with tragic elements, something quite hard to pull off, and regrettably here the two things don't quite gel. The plot swerves about like a car with a drunk at the wheel (and no brakes!) and potentially funny and moving scenarios tend to miss their mark.
Characters who should be central to the story have walk-on parts, and the prison-bound sub-plot, which doesn't really go anywhere, feels like a massive distraction.
Every so often the "star witness" of the title breaks in on the story, but the novel overall isn't really about him.
I've liked Andy's work for years and had high hopes for this, but it's left me less enthusiastic about the crowd funding thing. Perhaps the pressure of ordinary readers putting the money up might actually get in the way of good writing.
November 3, 2017
You can get to a point in life where it is easy to settle - settle for the easy job, the comfy relationship, the well trodden routine. The voice in your heart may be trying to tell you that you need something more, but you choose to bury this and stick with what you've got.
Kevin Carver's subconscious frustration at such a predicament causes him to make poor decisions that lead him to prison. Can there be any salvation for him before his mental state deteriorates to a point where he is beyond saving?
This premise is interesting, and one that invites everyone to look at their lives to see if they have settled, but, was it any good? Well, it started fairly slowly, and I found myself feeling a bit disappointed as I've always enjoyed Andy Hamilton's work. It does pick up strongly as the tale progresses though, and this quality continues until a good way through the book.
The resolution could have been handled better. Kevin's resolution was reasonable enough, but I was disappointed on how the fellow inmates, especially Dougie, who a decent amount of time was spent building into an interesting character, just get discarded. The same applies to the TV company.
Nevertheless, for my money, this was a decent enough, thought provoking story.
Kevin Carver's subconscious frustration at such a predicament causes him to make poor decisions that lead him to prison. Can there be any salvation for him before his mental state deteriorates to a point where he is beyond saving?
This premise is interesting, and one that invites everyone to look at their lives to see if they have settled, but, was it any good? Well, it started fairly slowly, and I found myself feeling a bit disappointed as I've always enjoyed Andy Hamilton's work. It does pick up strongly as the tale progresses though, and this quality continues until a good way through the book.
The resolution could have been handled better. Kevin's resolution was reasonable enough, but I was disappointed on how the fellow inmates, especially Dougie, who a decent amount of time was spent building into an interesting character, just get discarded. The same applies to the TV company.
Nevertheless, for my money, this was a decent enough, thought provoking story.
November 28, 2017
There's a certain timeliness in The Star Witness. Starting, as it does, with a celebrity becoming embroiled in a case of assault, with a public unable to separate the reality from the character he plays on a soap opera, it gives every appearance of being a novel for our times. Unfortunately, however, that appearance soon fades. The spine of the story - the relationship between the unfortunate Kevin and the delusional wanabee actor whose intervention acts as catalyst - is credible enough, but it lacks sufficient weight to carry the novel on its own. Instead, the book diverts for large chunks of the time into side plots which, whilst presumably intended to develop Kevin's character, feel overstretched for the purpose. The most extreme example of this comes early in the book when a shaken Kevin is taken to the Outer Hebrides and on a visit to St Kilda. It's nice and evocative, but it feels included more because Hamilton himself enjoyed a visit there than because it actually serves any purpose in the story.
The main fault with this book, however, is a matter of expectation. Hamilton is, of course, best known for his superbly witty comedies on television and radio, and - particularly given the quotes his broadcasting friends have provided - one is given the impression that this is a comedy. It isn't. A few mildly witty remarks from fringe character Mac aside, nothing feels intended as humour. There's none of the zaniness or philosophical humour of Old Harry's Game, none of the satirical barbs of Drop the Dead Donkey. It's not even - as billed - Hamilton's first novel (that honour goes to Drop The Dead Donkey 2000, co-written with Guy Jenkin).
Perhaps that seems unfair and the book is a victim of overzealous marketing. Taken as it is, it reads pleasantly enough and it's not overly long. Characters are well drawn and there are some interesting ideas. But one can't help feeling that, given its pedigree, it's something of a missed opportunity.
The main fault with this book, however, is a matter of expectation. Hamilton is, of course, best known for his superbly witty comedies on television and radio, and - particularly given the quotes his broadcasting friends have provided - one is given the impression that this is a comedy. It isn't. A few mildly witty remarks from fringe character Mac aside, nothing feels intended as humour. There's none of the zaniness or philosophical humour of Old Harry's Game, none of the satirical barbs of Drop the Dead Donkey. It's not even - as billed - Hamilton's first novel (that honour goes to Drop The Dead Donkey 2000, co-written with Guy Jenkin).
Perhaps that seems unfair and the book is a victim of overzealous marketing. Taken as it is, it reads pleasantly enough and it's not overly long. Characters are well drawn and there are some interesting ideas. But one can't help feeling that, given its pedigree, it's something of a missed opportunity.
April 7, 2018
Andy Hamilton is unquestionably a funny man - anybody who has heard him on Radio 4's 'The New Quiz' or 'Old Harry's Game' may well wonder - as I did - why somebody so accomplished had to crowdfund his book 'The Star Witness' when SURELY publishers should have been lining up to give him a book deal. But maybe they spotted what many readers will have worked out when reading 'The Star Witness' that he's probably better at the spontaneous quip than at planned and plotted humour.
This is a book for its time: one that looks at themes of trial by media, examines domestic abuse, stalking, perjury and chucks in a bit of redemption for good measure.
Kevin is a 50 something soap opera star whose character is handy with his fists - so when his real life girlfriend (who happens to be also his on screen love) goes down hard in a car park and comes up with bruises, the public are inclined to believe her claims that Kevin assaulted her. With his case going badly, Kevin accepts an offer from a man he doesn't know, a man willing to lie for him on oath and claim Kevin is innocent. When his helper turns into his biggest nightmare, Kevin ends up in prison.
There are bits of this book that are very amusing. There are bits the are heart-warming, and others that make you want to give several of the characters a good hard shake. There are also passages that indicate Hamilton didn't do his homework on life in prison - when Kevin says he's passing his time playing 'online chess' (no internet in British prisons) or when his friend Mac comes on a prison visit and shows him a Youtube video (no mobile phones in the visits room). I checked both these points with my husband who works in a prison and he confirmed my assumptions and said 'Hey, it's fiction. Does it matter?' Of course it does.
It's an enjoyable but not very memorable read.
This is a book for its time: one that looks at themes of trial by media, examines domestic abuse, stalking, perjury and chucks in a bit of redemption for good measure.
Kevin is a 50 something soap opera star whose character is handy with his fists - so when his real life girlfriend (who happens to be also his on screen love) goes down hard in a car park and comes up with bruises, the public are inclined to believe her claims that Kevin assaulted her. With his case going badly, Kevin accepts an offer from a man he doesn't know, a man willing to lie for him on oath and claim Kevin is innocent. When his helper turns into his biggest nightmare, Kevin ends up in prison.
There are bits of this book that are very amusing. There are bits the are heart-warming, and others that make you want to give several of the characters a good hard shake. There are also passages that indicate Hamilton didn't do his homework on life in prison - when Kevin says he's passing his time playing 'online chess' (no internet in British prisons) or when his friend Mac comes on a prison visit and shows him a Youtube video (no mobile phones in the visits room). I checked both these points with my husband who works in a prison and he confirmed my assumptions and said 'Hey, it's fiction. Does it matter?' Of course it does.
It's an enjoyable but not very memorable read.
August 29, 2023
Andy Hamilton's a clever lad and a very funny man -- amply proven by his radio appearances and his creations like Drop the Dead Donkey. But this doesn't quite come off. The opening's terrific - a scene over dinner in a restaurant in which a soap star is carelessly, arrogantly cruel to his (beautiful, recent and much younger) co-star girlfriend. It's funny, immediate and cringe-making. The early scenes in the TV recording studios are convincing, too: a chaotic blend of weary cynicism and highly-strung nerves against an unforgiving schedule.
But then events start to slip beyond the grasp of Kevin Carver, the central character and before long he's in bother with the police, in jail for perjury and there's still a way to go before he hits rock bottom.
It's never bad, but scenes in the Hebrides and in prison feel researched, less authentic than the start. And though Hamilton tries to bring Carver through a process of redemption, he doesn't make it work. Carver's less obnoxious by the end, but he's still obnoxious - with only one genuine friend to his name (and a fond relationship with his ex-wife). So his suffering comes across with too much self-pity mixed in, and not enough empathy and concern for others.
But then events start to slip beyond the grasp of Kevin Carver, the central character and before long he's in bother with the police, in jail for perjury and there's still a way to go before he hits rock bottom.
It's never bad, but scenes in the Hebrides and in prison feel researched, less authentic than the start. And though Hamilton tries to bring Carver through a process of redemption, he doesn't make it work. Carver's less obnoxious by the end, but he's still obnoxious - with only one genuine friend to his name (and a fond relationship with his ex-wife). So his suffering comes across with too much self-pity mixed in, and not enough empathy and concern for others.
July 16, 2017
The Star Witness is what I would call a perfect holiday book, I'd recommend it to anyone who has a few weeks off and just wants to lie around and not think of much.
While there are some definite witty parts and clever remarks in the book, the whole story feels a bit slow. Not much is going on, and before you know it you've spend 300 pages reading about something that could have also been explained in about five minutes. The storyline, soap actor commits crime and has to adjust to a new life, can hardly be called original.
All in all, fine book is you've got nothing better to do but wouldn't be my first choice as a new read.
While there are some definite witty parts and clever remarks in the book, the whole story feels a bit slow. Not much is going on, and before you know it you've spend 300 pages reading about something that could have also been explained in about five minutes. The storyline, soap actor commits crime and has to adjust to a new life, can hardly be called original.
All in all, fine book is you've got nothing better to do but wouldn't be my first choice as a new read.
October 6, 2017
Very Andy Hamilton, in a good way
Such a great writer and comedian. It comes out all through this novel. Some parts are laugh-out-load funny. It's a great observation on a miriad of characters. Quite unpredictable in its twists and turns. I hope Andy Hamilton writes us more novels. I gave it four not five as it seemed longer than necessary, but not in a bad way.
Such a great writer and comedian. It comes out all through this novel. Some parts are laugh-out-load funny. It's a great observation on a miriad of characters. Quite unpredictable in its twists and turns. I hope Andy Hamilton writes us more novels. I gave it four not five as it seemed longer than necessary, but not in a bad way.
June 12, 2018
I must confess that I only read this book because I had nothing to read and it was on the shelf at home.
I loved it!
Funny, entertaining, makes you think about the shallow world of media and society in general.
It's an easy, enjoyable, read. Great for beach reading (and that is meant as a compliment!).
I'd recommend it!
I loved it!
Funny, entertaining, makes you think about the shallow world of media and society in general.
It's an easy, enjoyable, read. Great for beach reading (and that is meant as a compliment!).
I'd recommend it!
August 15, 2018
I expected more
It’s an ok read, but I expected more comedy, a more cohesive plot, and more... depth. The book reads like a sketch of a plot waiting to be filled in with descriptive detail. It seems that Andy Hamilton was undecided in which way to take the plot, so he took it in all directions st once. And then applied a farcical denouement.
It’s an ok read, but I expected more comedy, a more cohesive plot, and more... depth. The book reads like a sketch of a plot waiting to be filled in with descriptive detail. It seems that Andy Hamilton was undecided in which way to take the plot, so he took it in all directions st once. And then applied a farcical denouement.
November 25, 2018
3.5 stars. The story has some interesting things to say about the nature of fame and the current climate of trial in the court of public opinion, but the writing style constantly switches from past to present tense and with my editor's hat on it was driving me crazy. Even so, as you'd expect from Andy Hamilton, there are plenty of good one-liners along the way...
February 26, 2018
I am a huge fan of Andy Hamilton (especially his radio comedies), so was really excited to read this. It’s a very easy to read, fun little novel, with darker and more unexpected twists than anticipated. I would recommend it as a weekend read for those who like a little humour in their novels
June 16, 2017
Witty! (as One would expect)
August 8, 2017
Not a book I would have chosen to read myself, but it was a book club selection and I absolutely loved it! A really good first novel with very touching moments, as well as a few shocks
February 24, 2018
A great, funny book by one of Britain's top comedy script writers.
April 29, 2018
Bit derivative
Well enough written and easy to read but felt too familiar, as if I had read this book before. It reminded me of early Ben Elton.
Summer read maybe.
Well enough written and easy to read but felt too familiar, as if I had read this book before. It reminded me of early Ben Elton.
Summer read maybe.
July 21, 2018
Well written funny, but disturbing, sorry going back to women writers!
July 26, 2018
A really excellent read. Will make you laugh at times, but more often it will make you think.
December 28, 2018
It’s okay
Andy Hamilton is a comedy god, unfortunately, he must have written this on the seventh day when he was having a bit of a rest.
Andy Hamilton is a comedy god, unfortunately, he must have written this on the seventh day when he was having a bit of a rest.
April 10, 2022
I really liked Star Witness. The plot moves so quickly you occasionally get whiplash but it's a funny, insightful and consistently surprising novel.
October 11, 2022
Wow
Simply brilliant. Funny, engaging, emotional with unexpected twists and turns. Everyone must read this. Andy Hamilton had, yet again, pulled it out the bag.
Simply brilliant. Funny, engaging, emotional with unexpected twists and turns. Everyone must read this. Andy Hamilton had, yet again, pulled it out the bag.
July 30, 2020
Andy Hamilton is known as a great comedy writer and I expected a lot from this book. It lived up to expectation, pulling me in from the very first chapter with clever word play and a narrator who, though far from saintly, is likeable and relatable.
The plot is well-paced, moving on quickly enough to keep you reading (I finished it in three days) but still giving you plenty of time to get to know the characters. Speaking of which, I expected the standard comic tropes and caricatures, but Hamilton doesn't go in for this at all - every character is well-rounded and multi-faceted. One of my favourite was Dougie, a tough jailbird covered in tattoos who talks a lot of sense and listens to Radio 4.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Radio 4 comedy programmes or well-written sitcoms as it has a familiar feel and will entertain you just as well.
The plot is well-paced, moving on quickly enough to keep you reading (I finished it in three days) but still giving you plenty of time to get to know the characters. Speaking of which, I expected the standard comic tropes and caricatures, but Hamilton doesn't go in for this at all - every character is well-rounded and multi-faceted. One of my favourite was Dougie, a tough jailbird covered in tattoos who talks a lot of sense and listens to Radio 4.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Radio 4 comedy programmes or well-written sitcoms as it has a familiar feel and will entertain you just as well.
October 24, 2016
Really gripping story that examines some of the ways in which the truth is manipulated by popular perception, our own prejudices and people who can't back down from their own lies. The characters were beautifully drawn and very believable. It's not laugh out loud comedy, more a wry social commentary with a witty and engaging protagonist. There are switches between past and present tense that seem intended to denote time passing and it takes a while to get used to this, but once the story is underway it sweeps you along. Great cover art by the way but WHY is there no table of contents in the kindle version?
December 21, 2016
Despite the cover blurb this isn't the book for you if you want 'hilarious'. That said, it's a darkly comic dissection of life in the celebrity spotlight featuring an anti-hero that you'll root for. At times disturbing, occasionally heart-warming and, at times, brutally funny this is a great debut from comedy writer extraordinaire Andy Hamilton (Old Harry's Game, Outnumbered, Drop the Dead Donkey etc.) and not at all what I expected from him. More please! :)
September 29, 2016
I have abandoned this book about a third of the way through. I expected it to be funny but I didn't even manage to smile as I plodded through those pages. I am a huge fan of Andy Hamilton but this struck me as very tedious indeed. Maybe there are entertaining plot twists later but I want entertaining characters to read about and this bunch were very boring.
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