Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Adventures in the Ordinary

by Rebecca Front

'Hilarious' The Times
'I was completely captivated' David Sedaris

People are odd. Even the most predictable of us sometimes defy expectations. Add to that the tricks that life plays on us and the world suddenly seems full of impossible things.

As an award-winning actor and writer, Rebecca Front has always been fascinated by life's little quirks. Impossible Things Before Breakfast is a collection of true stories about surprising turns of events, bizarre misunderstandings and improbable life lessons. We learn, among other things, how gazing at the stars can help you communicate with teenagers, how a mushroom can undermine an ancient ritual, and why everyone should wear a cape.

Combining elegant writing, wry humour and genuine insight, this brilliant collection prises open the lid on ordinary life and feasts on the impossible.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Biography, Essays

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2016

Reviews

[Wendy Greenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Rebecca Front's take on life's absurdities, maybe because they mirror so may of my thoughts/attitudes. Such an easy engaging read. Only wish I could capture slices of life in such a comic/self-deprecating way!

[Madison T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light, breezy, easy read - similar style to the Anthropocene Reviewed

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny, so clever, so ME. I'm obsessed with this woman lol.

[Tabatha Salmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warm, funny, very moving! As with her first book, it was lovely and eye-opening to read the account of a fellow people-pleaser and worrier.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

You will like this collection even better when you remember that these are true stories.

[Jodi Rilot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jodi Rilot
Yesterday at 19:10 ·

I love the way Rebecca Front writes. She is funny, self- aware, not scared to laugh at herself and her observations are always spot-on.

Close observation and being able to describe and recreate it later is absolutely an acting skill. No wonder she has always been in work, Rebecca Front is obviously a master at it.

I preferred Impossible Things Before Breakfast to her other collection, Curious. But they're both fab. And both books are written in very short episodes, that each stand alone. This is ideal for late night reading, when the eyelids start to drop after a page or two.

I highly recommend her audio book versions too. If you buy on Kindle, you get the audio version for a few quid.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny book. Rebecca Front is an award winning actress, radio presenter, newspaper columnist and writer. Aside from the fact that I am insanely jealous that she can do all of these, went to Oxford and has a lovely husband and two children - she is funny to boot! The book is just my kind of funny - observational humour. There were some definite laugh-out-loud moments and I love her use of one-liners (in describing some nouvelle cuisine “crispy curlicues, gossamer fronds and smears of froth that looked like a shrew’s ejaculate”). Just what I needed!

[Jamie Halliwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great, relatively quick and easy read from Rebecca which I needed after finishing part 2 of Dune! Its a series of vignettes in which she talks about seemingly ordinary things in her own wit and style. She talks about family life, hosting dinner parties, managing the hook-a-duck stall at her local fete and accidentally taking a pool car to get to a meeting with a Hollywood producer (in which I was equally getting frustrated and sympathising with her!).

[Thehumancoffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to listen to when you are free & want to laugh a little 👍🏼

[Yousef · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good bool to listen to when you are free & want to laugh a little!

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent read, but I found it quite uneven. Some essays were really lovely and delightful with their details and little joys and sorrows; others were slightly boring and tedious.

[Nagarajan Viswanathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and heart warming collection of short stories, ranging from birth to old age. Most of the stories are easily relatable to our daily lives

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I flew this collection of stories, some laugh out loud moments as well as moving and profound in other parts.

[Claudia Charlwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a nice collection of short stories grounded in ordinary life. Let's you appreciate the little quirks of the day to day

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

sometimes you really don’t have to take life so seriously
just giggle a little

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

very light read.

Quirky actor author. Very British. Stories of her life and motherhood.
Not sure I'll read her other works. Easy for a light read.

[sunlitfoliage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - it’s funny, charming, and full of personality. There are little trinkets of wisdom to be found in each story as Rebecca shares the life lessons she has learned through the chaotic, bizarre and hilarious situations she recounts. It’s a book that appreciates the unpredictability of life, and the humour and beauty that can be found within the chaos. It’s personal and at times tender, and it feels like sitting down for lunch with a friend and laughing with her as she tells you these stories.

[Kb · Rating 5 out of 5]

She tells stories so well.