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Broken Lunch: The Best of Times - A Funny Memoir
An intimate and fast moving memoir, sometimes laugh-out-loud, recalling Simon Dewhurst's privileged and eccentric nurturing in an upper-class English family after the last war. He has no time for misery and self-flagellation. Instead, the narrative glides seamlessly and predictably from one hilarious disaster to the next.
His exploits as a soldier, ski teacher, film extra, actor and a cinema projectionist among other jobs, take us from London during the Swinging Sixties to Scandinavia, North America and finally to darkest Africa. The ingredients for the best memoirs are many – his are blue, hilarious, and possibly worrying.
This is a very funny memoir and Dewhurst writes easily with an incisive wit. He has no truck with political correctness. His style is light and airy with little moralizing about the meaning of life, but he is still capable of a good rant when writing about the state of the modern world.
ON PHEASANT SHOOTING
The carnage and noise are difficult to describe – the beaters ululating, the explosions, the whining dogs and the pheasants squawking and thumping to the ground made for the best of film soundtracks. All it needed was a couple of helicopters, the Doors and some napalm to complete the picture.
Unfortunately, that never happened.
ON HIS MOTHER'S DOG
The day I took my driving test my mother suggested I put her bull terrier, who was called Tootle, in the back of the car. Tootle was so laid back that you would have thought he was on drugs to see him tottering along and quite often walking into things. He would stand there with a confused look on his face before finding a way round the obstruction.
ON THE SCHOOL MATRON
The Matron, Miss Dock, was a cynical little woman with a gravelly smoker’s voice and a face like a frog. She wore an old-fashioned navy blue dress and a large nun-like white hat. I suspect that she was not a real matron at all, and had probably been in charge of a group of anti-aircraft gun batteries during the war. She was obsessed with our bowel movements.
His exploits as a soldier, ski teacher, film extra, actor and a cinema projectionist among other jobs, take us from London during the Swinging Sixties to Scandinavia, North America and finally to darkest Africa. The ingredients for the best memoirs are many – his are blue, hilarious, and possibly worrying.
This is a very funny memoir and Dewhurst writes easily with an incisive wit. He has no truck with political correctness. His style is light and airy with little moralizing about the meaning of life, but he is still capable of a good rant when writing about the state of the modern world.
ON PHEASANT SHOOTING
The carnage and noise are difficult to describe – the beaters ululating, the explosions, the whining dogs and the pheasants squawking and thumping to the ground made for the best of film soundtracks. All it needed was a couple of helicopters, the Doors and some napalm to complete the picture.
Unfortunately, that never happened.
ON HIS MOTHER'S DOG
The day I took my driving test my mother suggested I put her bull terrier, who was called Tootle, in the back of the car. Tootle was so laid back that you would have thought he was on drugs to see him tottering along and quite often walking into things. He would stand there with a confused look on his face before finding a way round the obstruction.
ON THE SCHOOL MATRON
The Matron, Miss Dock, was a cynical little woman with a gravelly smoker’s voice and a face like a frog. She wore an old-fashioned navy blue dress and a large nun-like white hat. I suspect that she was not a real matron at all, and had probably been in charge of a group of anti-aircraft gun batteries during the war. She was obsessed with our bowel movements.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 28, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 31, 2018
Billed as an irreverent and hilarious memoir, it matches the first but is sadly lacking in the second. There were a few amusing episodes but what it really comes across as is a memoir of the offspring of a rich family who never really has to work hard or find a proper job because he always had some form of inheritance or allowance from one or other of his relatives to live off. Consequently, any jobs he does get seem merely to 'show willing' or alleviate boredom, readily dropped when he got the opportunity to travel. Great life if you can get it! 6/10.
June 28, 2018
“I was born a long time ago with a silver spoon in my mouth, but by the time I was thirty I’d just about swallowed it.” -Simon Dewhurst, Broken Lunch: An Irreverent and Hilarious Personal Memoir
Broken Lunch is certainly advertised as a “hilarious” memoir. It features personal stories going all the way back to his great-great-grandfather and occasional rants about the cultures with quick wit and humorous analogies.
Personally, I didn’t find the book to be “hilarious”; “funny” in some chapters and I did laugh a few times, but the book as a whole just wasn’t funny to me. However, I probably have a completely different sense of humor than this dry, almost insulting wit.
The stories were intriguing and I enjoyed reading about his life and the histories of Simon’s family, but like I said, it wasn’t as entertaining as to me as I expected it to be. He is very blunt in his stories as well, not making for a very clean read either.
So honestly, someone else may enjoy this novel much more than I did, but I am only willing to give it 3 out of 5 stars.
I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.
This is a LiteratureApproved.com Review.
Broken Lunch is certainly advertised as a “hilarious” memoir. It features personal stories going all the way back to his great-great-grandfather and occasional rants about the cultures with quick wit and humorous analogies.
Personally, I didn’t find the book to be “hilarious”; “funny” in some chapters and I did laugh a few times, but the book as a whole just wasn’t funny to me. However, I probably have a completely different sense of humor than this dry, almost insulting wit.
The stories were intriguing and I enjoyed reading about his life and the histories of Simon’s family, but like I said, it wasn’t as entertaining as to me as I expected it to be. He is very blunt in his stories as well, not making for a very clean read either.
So honestly, someone else may enjoy this novel much more than I did, but I am only willing to give it 3 out of 5 stars.
I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.
This is a LiteratureApproved.com Review.
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June 20, 2018I can't write a review of my own book but I really would appreciate one from you, whether good, bad or indifferent. Your review could be the rocket fuel to propel me onwards and upwards, or the large rock roped around my ankles to drown me. Or perhaps it could be somewhere in between the two - rocket fuel and a large rock - Surely this would rip you apart? And anyway, shouldn't this be in your blog-Ed
August 2, 2018
Humorous
An interesting and humorous insight into a different era a really enjoyable read from start to finish would recommend reading it
An interesting and humorous insight into a different era a really enjoyable read from start to finish would recommend reading it
November 30, 2016
Broken Lunch is a feel good book and by the end of it I was still smiling. In fact I was laughing out loud sometimes and found it hilarious. He pulls everything apart he doesn't like with just a few well chosen words - blood sports, the Catholic Church, the army – you name it! Work seems to be something he and his family were not terribly keen on too, and he has had his share of disastrous jobs. Everything he writes about is told with an easy style and I was very surprised how soon this book came to an end and left me wanting to read more. I hope to read the next instalment soon!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews