What do you think?
Rate this book
Spencer's List
Spencer, Fran and Iris have something in the feeling that life is passing them by. Spencer's lost his lover, who bequeathed him a list of things to do; Fran shares a run-down house with her oddball brother; whilst Iris spends her time cleaning up after her two teenage sons...SPENCER'S LIST is a wonderfully funny tale of life lived on the edge - of reason, of failure and of (just possibly) a brighter future.'Bloody funny, bloody moving, bloody buy it' Meera Syal
- GenresFictionContemporary
ebook
First published February 7, 2002
54 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Lissa Evans
19 books477 followersAfter a brief career in medicine, and an even briefer one in stand-up, Lissa Evans became a comedy producer, first in radio and then in television. Her first novel, Spencer's List, was published in 2002, and since then she has written three more books for adults (two of them longlisted for the Orange/Baileys Prize) and two for children (the first of them shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal). Her two most recent books for adults were set in London during the Second World War; one of them, 'Their Finest Hour and a Half' has now been made into a film entitled 'Their Finest', starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 12, 2014
I read this book fairly quickly as it's a light and fun read but only that. I never really felt I got to know the characters or really care for them too much either.
Lissa Evans can write well so I persevered.
Light and easy but not much substance and not as funny as it claims to be.
Lissa Evans can write well so I persevered.
Light and easy but not much substance and not as funny as it claims to be.
July 10, 2010
I bought this before my trip bc it was set in London but it wasn't that great so I didn't bring it along.
It ended better than it started but it just didn't make me laugh like is suggested it would (and British fiction often does). It was about people's lives, the bad, more bad and some good.
It ended better than it started but it just didn't make me laugh like is suggested it would (and British fiction often does). It was about people's lives, the bad, more bad and some good.
February 12, 2016
Ik zag een leuke cover en hoopte een daar bijhorend leuk boek te lezen. Jammer genoeg was het niet zo. Ik ga niet ontkennen dat er geen grappige stukjes inzaten maar over het algemeen vond ik het vrij saai. Misschien lag het eerder aan de manier van schrijven dan aan de inhoud zelf maar ik moest mij er echt door worstelen. Waarom dan niet opgeven en iets anders lezen? Ik wil gewoon proberen ieder boek een kans te geven en ik hoop steeds dat er een wending inkomt waardoor ik blij ben dat ik doorzette. Spijtig genoeg is dat niet steeds het geval en dit boek is daar een voorbeeld van.
Conclusie
Zeker geen aanrader en dus slechts 1 ster.
Conclusie
Zeker geen aanrader en dus slechts 1 ster.
October 18, 2020
This is such a lovely book, perfect bedtime reading, full of kindness and gentleness and the absurdity of humanity. Only teaso I didn't give it 5 stars (I think it's 4.5) is because the two women came across as much older than they turned out to be. However it didn't dent my enjoyment and I heartily recommend it if you're after something to reduce your stress levels.
July 11, 2017
Satisfying
Another lovely book from Lisa. Always a pleasure to read and this one did not disappoint. Full of characters to love and humour to cheer you up and make you smile. Highly recommended as a book at bedtime!
Another lovely book from Lisa. Always a pleasure to read and this one did not disappoint. Full of characters to love and humour to cheer you up and make you smile. Highly recommended as a book at bedtime!
February 17, 2017
Fun, light with a mix of drama and sincere characterization of the characters. Love that British humor.
December 7, 2018
A great read
I really enjoyed this book. It’s funny and moving with lovely characters. It’s also very well written. An easy read but one you can feel good about!
I really enjoyed this book. It’s funny and moving with lovely characters. It’s also very well written. An easy read but one you can feel good about!
December 15, 2019
Rather lovely, three main characters linked by friendship navigate life. Usual good characterisation from Lissa with some very funny bits but also quite poignant at times. Thoroughly enjoyable book.
March 3, 2020
Love all of Lissa Evans' books - this, like the others, had me laughing, and crying at the same time. Utterly fabulous.
February 9, 2020
A slice of life as it is lived
I love Lissa' Evan's writing. She writes about seemingly real people and makes them come alive with all their quirky traits. Her keen observation of human foibles and troubles is spot on as always, and so are her settings. I love the humour in her writing. It can't be easy to write so many funny but believable scenes. I chuckled in many parts of the book as I went on a journey with the main characters: Fran, Spencer and Iris, all struggling, all three so likeable, all of them in identifiable and different and difficult places in their lives.
I read three of Lissa's Evan's books last year, all three stunning books five star reads. I think her writing is absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed them all enormously.
This book is full of humour and truths about struggling with every day things and doing your best to work out a way through. It comes to no neatly wrapped ending for the three main protagonists; more a sense - as in real life - of tentative new beginnings and personal growth. It is a lovely book, I really loved it - just like a slice of real people's lives. Funny, quirky, sad, hopeful and, in places, both poignant and hilarious. Just pure enjoyment really. I am sorry to leave these characters. I grew to care about them. They feel like friends, especially Spencer and Iris. If I met Fran, glorious though she is, in real life, I imagine I might find her a bit intimidating, although I loved her relationship with Spencer and the way they communicated with intelligence and humour. It kind of ambles along nicely. I look forward to reading more of this talented writer's books. I think she writes like a dream.
I love Lissa' Evan's writing. She writes about seemingly real people and makes them come alive with all their quirky traits. Her keen observation of human foibles and troubles is spot on as always, and so are her settings. I love the humour in her writing. It can't be easy to write so many funny but believable scenes. I chuckled in many parts of the book as I went on a journey with the main characters: Fran, Spencer and Iris, all struggling, all three so likeable, all of them in identifiable and different and difficult places in their lives.
I read three of Lissa's Evan's books last year, all three stunning books five star reads. I think her writing is absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed them all enormously.
This book is full of humour and truths about struggling with every day things and doing your best to work out a way through. It comes to no neatly wrapped ending for the three main protagonists; more a sense - as in real life - of tentative new beginnings and personal growth. It is a lovely book, I really loved it - just like a slice of real people's lives. Funny, quirky, sad, hopeful and, in places, both poignant and hilarious. Just pure enjoyment really. I am sorry to leave these characters. I grew to care about them. They feel like friends, especially Spencer and Iris. If I met Fran, glorious though she is, in real life, I imagine I might find her a bit intimidating, although I loved her relationship with Spencer and the way they communicated with intelligence and humour. It kind of ambles along nicely. I look forward to reading more of this talented writer's books. I think she writes like a dream.
June 23, 2021
Lissa Evans is rapidly becoming one of my very favourite authors. I’ve greatly enjoyed all the books of hers I’ve read and Spencer’s List is a brilliant example. It’s crammed full of convincing, likeable and fallible characters – as well as some equally believable horrors – attempting to deal with the ridiculousness of life. In this book it’s Fran, Iris and Spencer you mainly root for, though the secondary characters are well-rounded too.
As you would expect from the former BBC producer/director of Father Ted and Have I Got News for You (among many other radio and TV shows) you’re never too far away from a really good laugh: either a witty conversation, a chuckle-worthy turn of phrase, or some hilarious set-piece action. If escaped city pigs, mega-procreating giant land snails, and porno-mag-chomping tortoises are your thing, you’re in for treats!
But this is no shallow laugh-athon. There’s depth, poignancy and even tragedy in the story, all beautifully and sensitively handled, so that you worry for the fate of her admirable and authentic characters. Not the twins though, they’ll do just fine!
Keep ‘em coming, Ms Evans and I’ll keep reading ‘em.
As you would expect from the former BBC producer/director of Father Ted and Have I Got News for You (among many other radio and TV shows) you’re never too far away from a really good laugh: either a witty conversation, a chuckle-worthy turn of phrase, or some hilarious set-piece action. If escaped city pigs, mega-procreating giant land snails, and porno-mag-chomping tortoises are your thing, you’re in for treats!
But this is no shallow laugh-athon. There’s depth, poignancy and even tragedy in the story, all beautifully and sensitively handled, so that you worry for the fate of her admirable and authentic characters. Not the twins though, they’ll do just fine!
Keep ‘em coming, Ms Evans and I’ll keep reading ‘em.
June 21, 2023
An every-page-a-chuckle delight, this charmer features a group of 3 friends, Fran, Iris, Spencer, their assorted others and workmates and backstories in contemporary Wodehouseian comedy of manners that feels and resonates like real life. The humor that arises from a kindlyH view of personality and foibles and odd loyalties and fixations is the best.
"He walked like a pair of scissors, hinged from the waist and almost on tiptoe, and his diminishing staccato footsteps became lost under the noise of her fingers on the keyboard." P 89
"...she had learned to use the word 'Tammy' without choking on her Earl Grey, but there had been no hint from her kidnapper that there might be a weightier subject on the agenda, or a more complex relationship between them than that of pourer and drinker. All was bubble and froth, an unstoppable fountain, deluging the listener with goodwill." p. 207
she had tucked the memory...so far into the back of her mind that it was like seeing an unwelcome visitor on the doorstep, one whom you had casually but insincerely invited to visit." p.316
"
"He walked like a pair of scissors, hinged from the waist and almost on tiptoe, and his diminishing staccato footsteps became lost under the noise of her fingers on the keyboard." P 89
"...she had learned to use the word 'Tammy' without choking on her Earl Grey, but there had been no hint from her kidnapper that there might be a weightier subject on the agenda, or a more complex relationship between them than that of pourer and drinker. All was bubble and froth, an unstoppable fountain, deluging the listener with goodwill." p. 207
she had tucked the memory...so far into the back of her mind that it was like seeing an unwelcome visitor on the doorstep, one whom you had casually but insincerely invited to visit." p.316
"
May 20, 2022
I was intrigued by the idea of Spencer completing a series of tasks or experiences which had been left for him to undertake by his dead friend and former lover. However, this list seemed incidental to the plot rather than central to it. More interesting were the stories of Fran and Iris but they just meadered along pleasantly.The ending was very underwhelming.
June 29, 2018
Light and 'fluffy', with serious notes; quite an easy read
February 4, 2021
Loved it.
November 1, 2021
This is not "a wonderfully funny tale". It's mildly interesting/amusing for a while but then... really not my thing and found it very dull.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews