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Oh, I Do Like to Be
‘Funny, super-smart, clever and ridiculous’ Richard Osman
Shakespeare clone and would-be playwright Billy has just arrived in an English seaside town with his sister Sally, who was cloned from a hair found on the back of a bus seat. All Billy wants is a cheap B&B, an ice cream and a huge hit in the West End. Little does he know that their fellow clones Bill and Sal are also residents of this town. Things are about to get confusing – cue professional rivalry, marital discord and a family reunion like no other. This modern update of The Comedy of Errors is what you get when Gods Behaving Badly author Marie Phillips decides to write an important, scholarly work about the life of William Shakespeare, reads the complete works, including the long poems nobody likes, and then decides to turn it into a witty, delightful romp that you can probably finish reading in an afternoon with two tea breaks.
‘A screwball comedy of high-concept errors, involving clones of Shakespeare colliding in a seaside town, all run through like a stick of rock with Marie Phillips’ shameless wit (plus a few thefts from the Bard)’ Laline Paull, author of The Bees
Shakespeare clone and would-be playwright Billy has just arrived in an English seaside town with his sister Sally, who was cloned from a hair found on the back of a bus seat. All Billy wants is a cheap B&B, an ice cream and a huge hit in the West End. Little does he know that their fellow clones Bill and Sal are also residents of this town. Things are about to get confusing – cue professional rivalry, marital discord and a family reunion like no other. This modern update of The Comedy of Errors is what you get when Gods Behaving Badly author Marie Phillips decides to write an important, scholarly work about the life of William Shakespeare, reads the complete works, including the long poems nobody likes, and then decides to turn it into a witty, delightful romp that you can probably finish reading in an afternoon with two tea breaks.
‘A screwball comedy of high-concept errors, involving clones of Shakespeare colliding in a seaside town, all run through like a stick of rock with Marie Phillips’ shameless wit (plus a few thefts from the Bard)’ Laline Paull, author of The Bees
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Published January 24, 2019
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About the author
Marie Phillips
14 books267 followersMy novels are 'Gods Behaving Badly', 'The Table of Less Valued Knights' and 'Oh, I Do Like TO Be...' I also co-wrote the BBC Radio 4 series and book 'Warhorses of Letters', the BBC Radio 4 series 'Some Hay in a Manger', and was one of the contributors to the collection of spoof erotic essays, 'Fifty Shelves of Grey' (as Vanessa Parody). My most recent book is a choose your own adventure called Create Your Own Midlife Crisis. There's another author with the same name as me who writes books about cats. She isn't me, although I do like cats.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 20, 2023
I just finished it and I must say it’s the most refreshing book I read in a while. I fully recommend this short and funny story.
January 25, 2019
A strange but funny book, this is an extravagant farce involving one of the best known names in British history – or rather his clone, or two. It has an equally strange title as it is set in a seaside town, and is consequently full of references to the beach and rather sad Bed and Breakfast establishments. Not terribly scientific, but enormous fun as people run in and out of buildings, around the small town and generally avoid the truth for as long as possible, while creating misunderstandings at every step. After readings Phillips’ previous books, I was especially keen to take part in the blog tour for this book by offering a review.
Billy and his sister Sally have just arrived in town. Within seconds we learn about their relationship; she is carrying the bulk of their luggage while Billy delicately pulls a suitcase. Billy tries to come up with observations of the rather tatty scenery, while soaking up the atmosphere and sending his evidently downtrodden sister off to find a place to stay. He is also fed up of whatever he has been doing, as he realises that despite his beginning as a clone of William Shakespeare, he can never create anything really memorable. He is vaguely in touch with his mother, but obviously she has had high expectations of his writing. When Sally returns, he is pleased to hear that she has found a place for them to stay, but is stunned to find a beautiful woman there, among a house full of books that she evidently assumes represent his well received writing. Meanwhile, the original newly arrived in town Sally has encountered Bill, the real owner of the house, husband of the beautiful Thadie, and successful writer. Confusion and much hilarity ensue, as no one seems to be sure who is truly who in a small town where personalities overlap and complications get more dramatic.
I enjoyed this book; it was a light read which I speeded through, while appreciating the characters. It was an intriguing concept; how would the greatest writer in the world truly fare when in the twenty first century? It is not a great literary novel, but a very human one about the problems that real people unintentionally get themselves into everyday, even if these are rather extreme. There are one or two set pieces that are particularly funny, despite the fact that the characters enduring them do not appreciate them at the time. The characters are consistent in their behaviour, and the rather tatty B&B is well described. There are always times when an easy to read book is the answer and for a well written light hearted read this book is highly recommended.
Billy and his sister Sally have just arrived in town. Within seconds we learn about their relationship; she is carrying the bulk of their luggage while Billy delicately pulls a suitcase. Billy tries to come up with observations of the rather tatty scenery, while soaking up the atmosphere and sending his evidently downtrodden sister off to find a place to stay. He is also fed up of whatever he has been doing, as he realises that despite his beginning as a clone of William Shakespeare, he can never create anything really memorable. He is vaguely in touch with his mother, but obviously she has had high expectations of his writing. When Sally returns, he is pleased to hear that she has found a place for them to stay, but is stunned to find a beautiful woman there, among a house full of books that she evidently assumes represent his well received writing. Meanwhile, the original newly arrived in town Sally has encountered Bill, the real owner of the house, husband of the beautiful Thadie, and successful writer. Confusion and much hilarity ensue, as no one seems to be sure who is truly who in a small town where personalities overlap and complications get more dramatic.
I enjoyed this book; it was a light read which I speeded through, while appreciating the characters. It was an intriguing concept; how would the greatest writer in the world truly fare when in the twenty first century? It is not a great literary novel, but a very human one about the problems that real people unintentionally get themselves into everyday, even if these are rather extreme. There are one or two set pieces that are particularly funny, despite the fact that the characters enduring them do not appreciate them at the time. The characters are consistent in their behaviour, and the rather tatty B&B is well described. There are always times when an easy to read book is the answer and for a well written light hearted read this book is highly recommended.
February 1, 2019
Combining Marie’s talent for screwball comedy with the plot of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, this is a madcap combination of mistaken identity, some dodgy genetic experimentation, the bard’s finest phrasing, and the pleasures of the English seaside resort.
Clones Billy and Sally are blissfully unaware of fellow clone twins Bill and Sal’s existence. All they want is a cheap B&B, an ice cream, and somewhere inspirational for Billy to write his West End debut. But when Billy is found by Sal and not Sally and taken home to his clone’s long-suffering wife Thandie, he quickly ends up in over his head. Because Bill has secrets and, in his efforts to extricate himself from the situation and reunite with Sally, Billy is going to plunge headlong into all of them!
Full of madcap characters, improbable situations and hilarious misunderstandings, this is a short, fun riot of a book that is packed to brimming with Shakespeare references and glossed with Marie’s spirited wit. When I started the book I was worried that I would find the Billy/Bill, Sally/Sal dynamic difficult to follow but, as with the Shakespeare play from which it borrows, Marie’s pared-back prose and eye for detail mean that it’s easy to follow who’s who, allowing me to sit back and enjoy the farcical comedy that ensued when Bill and Billy’s lives become entwined.
If mishaps, identity swapping and The Comedy of Errors aren’t for you, then you might not get the humour in Oh, I Do Like to Be but if (like me) you enjoy the occasional Ealing comedy then there’s plenty of belly-laughs to be had here.
Oh, I Do Like To Be is one of those books that does what it says on the tin – funny, smart and a little bit ridiculous all at the same time. Perfect for gulping down in one sitting on a gloomy afternoon, this is a delightful read for cheering up a cold day!
This review was first published on my blog, The Shelf of Unread Books at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre..., as part of the blog tour for Oh, I Do Like to Be. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Clones Billy and Sally are blissfully unaware of fellow clone twins Bill and Sal’s existence. All they want is a cheap B&B, an ice cream, and somewhere inspirational for Billy to write his West End debut. But when Billy is found by Sal and not Sally and taken home to his clone’s long-suffering wife Thandie, he quickly ends up in over his head. Because Bill has secrets and, in his efforts to extricate himself from the situation and reunite with Sally, Billy is going to plunge headlong into all of them!
Full of madcap characters, improbable situations and hilarious misunderstandings, this is a short, fun riot of a book that is packed to brimming with Shakespeare references and glossed with Marie’s spirited wit. When I started the book I was worried that I would find the Billy/Bill, Sally/Sal dynamic difficult to follow but, as with the Shakespeare play from which it borrows, Marie’s pared-back prose and eye for detail mean that it’s easy to follow who’s who, allowing me to sit back and enjoy the farcical comedy that ensued when Bill and Billy’s lives become entwined.
If mishaps, identity swapping and The Comedy of Errors aren’t for you, then you might not get the humour in Oh, I Do Like to Be but if (like me) you enjoy the occasional Ealing comedy then there’s plenty of belly-laughs to be had here.
Oh, I Do Like To Be is one of those books that does what it says on the tin – funny, smart and a little bit ridiculous all at the same time. Perfect for gulping down in one sitting on a gloomy afternoon, this is a delightful read for cheering up a cold day!
This review was first published on my blog, The Shelf of Unread Books at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre..., as part of the blog tour for Oh, I Do Like to Be. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
January 22, 2019
Oh, I Do Like To Be... is a comic romp that takes the plot of The Comedy of Errors and makes it about modern day Shakespeare clones. Billy was cloned from Shakespeare and his sister Sally was cloned from a hair on the seat of a bus. Together they've just arrived in a seaside town, where Billy wants to work on his writing in the hope of completing a play. Instead, they run into Bill and Sal, who seem to be remarkably similar to them, and things are about to get very confusing as Billy deals with Bill's wife and lover and nobody can work out who they're talking to.
This is a novel that does exactly what it says on the tin. Phillips plays around with a sackful of Shakespeare references, a lot of mistaken identity, and some ice-creams to create this modern version of one of Shakespeare's more annoying works. In fact, Phillips does much like what Shakespeare did to create The Comedy of Errors out of Plautus' Menaechmi, though Shakespeare added a second pair of twins and Phillips doesn't add a third (though does add cloning). If you find The Comedy of Errors and/or Menaechmi infuriating (as I do), you may want to give this one a miss because uses the same comic device in the same way.
However, if you can get past that, it is a purposefully silly novel that doesn't try and take itself seriously, but does manage to get in a lot of references to Shakespeare and his works. Due to the naming differences, it is actually easier to read and work out who is who than might be expected, and its short length, setting, and comedy would make it a good light holiday read.
This is a novel that does exactly what it says on the tin. Phillips plays around with a sackful of Shakespeare references, a lot of mistaken identity, and some ice-creams to create this modern version of one of Shakespeare's more annoying works. In fact, Phillips does much like what Shakespeare did to create The Comedy of Errors out of Plautus' Menaechmi, though Shakespeare added a second pair of twins and Phillips doesn't add a third (though does add cloning). If you find The Comedy of Errors and/or Menaechmi infuriating (as I do), you may want to give this one a miss because uses the same comic device in the same way.
However, if you can get past that, it is a purposefully silly novel that doesn't try and take itself seriously, but does manage to get in a lot of references to Shakespeare and his works. Due to the naming differences, it is actually easier to read and work out who is who than might be expected, and its short length, setting, and comedy would make it a good light holiday read.
January 30, 2019
I have to admit, this is a book that really came at the right time, a time when I was heading, kicking and screaming into a mother of a reading slump, with a backlog that needed to be delved into. I have to admit I wasn't sure it was me but within the first few pages I was hooked, as I read the story of Billy and his sister Sally. You hear the word 'clone' and you accept it will be a kooky kind of book, but nothing prepared me for the mayhem and mix ups that totally hit the spot as my kind of humour. The phrase laugh out loud was pretty much coined for this!
The romance was actually very lovely too, and I pretty much smiled, nodded and gasped throughout. I loved that you got the full smack of desperation from the lead, a character who can't believe that he hasn't been able to put out a play and then you feel his shock as he meets someone who has lived their life doing just this and not only that-they're him! So it could have been him, should have been him and all in between, but the thing is, the cosmos has plans for not only them, but his sister, who was also cloned. The characters in this were brilliant and I shook my head at their mother, who was really something! Very much recommended and thanks so much to Anne Cater for the book in return for an honest review.
The romance was actually very lovely too, and I pretty much smiled, nodded and gasped throughout. I loved that you got the full smack of desperation from the lead, a character who can't believe that he hasn't been able to put out a play and then you feel his shock as he meets someone who has lived their life doing just this and not only that-they're him! So it could have been him, should have been him and all in between, but the thing is, the cosmos has plans for not only them, but his sister, who was also cloned. The characters in this were brilliant and I shook my head at their mother, who was really something! Very much recommended and thanks so much to Anne Cater for the book in return for an honest review.
January 23, 2019
***Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this copy in exchange for an honest review!***
This was delightful! It's a short, fun read that made me laugh. How could I say no to a (loose) retelling of The Comedy of Errors featuring Shakespeare clones?! It isn't a very long book and some of the characterizations worked better than others (the first set of twins is much better developed than the second, for instance) and it does feature some tropes which would annoy me in anywhere else. For instance: there are a multitude of perfectly-timed coincidences and miscommunications but they are felt very Shakespearean and true to the theme. Definitely recommended for Shakespeare fans looking for a fun summer read.
Content: Some language and a brief description of sex. One of the characters is gay and kisses his boyfriend. This is an adult book.
This was delightful! It's a short, fun read that made me laugh. How could I say no to a (loose) retelling of The Comedy of Errors featuring Shakespeare clones?! It isn't a very long book and some of the characterizations worked better than others (the first set of twins is much better developed than the second, for instance) and it does feature some tropes which would annoy me in anywhere else. For instance: there are a multitude of perfectly-timed coincidences and miscommunications but they are felt very Shakespearean and true to the theme. Definitely recommended for Shakespeare fans looking for a fun summer read.
Content: Some language and a brief description of sex. One of the characters is gay and kisses his boyfriend. This is an adult book.
April 12, 2019
Definitely a high concept novel but I have come to expect that from this writer. It was hilarious as I had hoped and a great take on a classic comedy situation, well not classic. I rather enjoyed the rationale that bad person Billy used to justify himself. I hope this becomes a radio play because it would be a perfect story to adapt.
May 9, 2020
So fun!
This was such a fun book and such a quick read. I actually would’ve given it five stars but I read gods behaving badly first, and while I love William Shakespeare I really love Greek mythology. So the other one was a little more fun for me personally. But they were wonderful to read but not stupid as so many funny novels can be. So enjoyable
This was such a fun book and such a quick read. I actually would’ve given it five stars but I read gods behaving badly first, and while I love William Shakespeare I really love Greek mythology. So the other one was a little more fun for me personally. But they were wonderful to read but not stupid as so many funny novels can be. So enjoyable
June 27, 2020
I always love Marie Phillips' books - they are such a treat and it makes me so sad that I've read them all! I'll have to reread the previous two and savour them. This was fun, a few editing mistakes here and there but an enjoyable read.
November 26, 2020
Probably a 3.5. Just as with a real Shakespeare comedy, this was not as funny as it could have been; certainly not as good as the other books I have read by this author. Two sets of identical twins, clones of Shakespeare and lots of mistaken identity.
January 22, 2019
Fun, short, with some sweet insights. Couldn’t put it down. Finished in one night.
May 26, 2019
Brilliantly silly. Sharp jokes, clever insights, and a farce worthy of the Bard himself.
June 1, 2019
En rolig och förvirrande bok om Shakespeare-kloner och deras äventyr när de upptäcker förvillelser...
September 14, 2019
A delightfully breezy update on A Comedy of Errors. I only reserve a star because this story is not as hilarious and endlessly quotable as God’s Behaving Badly and The Table of Less Valued Knights.
November 30, 2019
Very entertaining - I read it in one sitting. Funny and sharp.
June 21, 2022
kind of funny
November 29, 2022
(I would have given 3.5 stars if I could)
I've now read all three novels by Marie Phillips and if she ever published another one I will definitely read it as well.
This one is a fun book, and I, Miss I Can't Handle Books With More than Two Hundred Pages, was somewhat disappointed that it was so short
I've now read all three novels by Marie Phillips and if she ever published another one I will definitely read it as well.
This one is a fun book, and I, Miss I Can't Handle Books With More than Two Hundred Pages, was somewhat disappointed that it was so short
April 24, 2024
3.5 A clever take on A Comedy of Errors and whimsical like The Table of Less-Valued Knights. I wish she would write more. I really loved God Behaving Badly.
February 20, 2020
*2.5 stars. The premise was great, the execution was flawed. I am disappointed because I had really high expectations after reading “gods behaving badly”. This is a fun little book and was a good brain break.
September 22, 2020
This is a fun, yet a little weird short story. I’m a fan of Marie Phillips writing style and characters in her stories.
Read
January 24, 2019Having studied Latin and Ancient Greek Literature in high school, I always loved comedies featuring mistaken identities, brothers and sisters separated at birth and then reunited, funny situations created by misunderstandings that, then, I found and loved in William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. So, when I read that OH, I DO LIKE TO BE is a “modern update” of the Shakespearean comedy, I was really looking forward to read it and I wasn’t disappointed.
Billy and Bill don’t know each other, but they have so many things in common. They both look like William Shakespeare, they are both playwrights (although one is very successful, while the other is not), they both have a sister, Sally and Sal, who look like each other. What else? Oh, right, together with their sisters, they are both clones created by a scientist, but they don’t know of each other existence.
For the last five years, struggling writer Billy and his sister Sally have been moving from town to town as Billy struggles to write a successful play. They arrive in a small town where successful playwright Bill lives with his wife and with his sister Sal. Bill has a secret to hide and Billy, who looks exactly like him, finds himself involved in his lies and deception causing a series of hilarious and improbable situations that made me laugh out aloud.
With a clear prose, engaging characters, and a little touch of fantasy (the clonation of Shakespeare) this was such an entertaining and quick read. The author’s writing style is simple and fluid, I literally flew through the pages. The characters are likable, funny, and a little simple-minded (especially Sally and Sal). Being familiar with The Comedy of Errors, I knew how the novel was going to end, but I still found a few surprises along the way that kept me entertained.
OH, I DO LIKE TO BE is a charming, enjoyable, and immersive read.
Billy and Bill don’t know each other, but they have so many things in common. They both look like William Shakespeare, they are both playwrights (although one is very successful, while the other is not), they both have a sister, Sally and Sal, who look like each other. What else? Oh, right, together with their sisters, they are both clones created by a scientist, but they don’t know of each other existence.
For the last five years, struggling writer Billy and his sister Sally have been moving from town to town as Billy struggles to write a successful play. They arrive in a small town where successful playwright Bill lives with his wife and with his sister Sal. Bill has a secret to hide and Billy, who looks exactly like him, finds himself involved in his lies and deception causing a series of hilarious and improbable situations that made me laugh out aloud.
With a clear prose, engaging characters, and a little touch of fantasy (the clonation of Shakespeare) this was such an entertaining and quick read. The author’s writing style is simple and fluid, I literally flew through the pages. The characters are likable, funny, and a little simple-minded (especially Sally and Sal). Being familiar with The Comedy of Errors, I knew how the novel was going to end, but I still found a few surprises along the way that kept me entertained.
OH, I DO LIKE TO BE is a charming, enjoyable, and immersive read.
April 23, 2019
A fun book perfect for beach reading.
An experiment took place 20+years ago in which a hair of Shakespeare was cloned producing twin boys and this was compared with a cloning of 2 normal twins. What follows is a Comedy of Errors. When both pairs meet up in a seaside town.
I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.
An experiment took place 20+years ago in which a hair of Shakespeare was cloned producing twin boys and this was compared with a cloning of 2 normal twins. What follows is a Comedy of Errors. When both pairs meet up in a seaside town.
I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.
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