The Full Catastrophe: Stories from when life was so bad it was funny

by Rebecca Huntley, Sara MacDonald

We’ve all had days when if we didn’t laugh, we’d cry. Whether it’s a domestic drama, career cockup or just a run-of-the-mill disaster, we’ve all been there – no matter who we are. In this hilarious and moving collection, well-known Australians from all walks of life share their stories as a kind of mass therapy; a feel-good tonic for when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan. From Annabel Crabb’s tale of Russian interference in the birth of her first child to Kate McClymont on how to manage mobsters, or Frank Moorhouse on the worst possible Valentine’s Day to Emma Alberici on moving to London with three small children, these entertaining tales of woe remind us that this too shall pass.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Short Stories, Australia, Memoir

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2019

Reviews

[Nicole Foster]

Short stories of personal disasters that made you cringe, say swear words in your head or build tension. So much so that you would laugh with a sigh of relief or left wondering ‘What the actual?’ Some you have experienced yourself or ones far-fetched, it goes to show no matter what situation life puts you in you can overcome and maybe be able to have a laugh about just how bad it was.

[Lyn Ryan]

This is a humourous compliation of stories of disasters and personal calamities. I listened to the audiobook version of this text. There were two narrators, Sun Park and James Saunders, chosen to match the gender of the author of the short story. While James Saunders' narration was OK, Sun Park seemed just completely unaware of the comic timing implied by the author's writing. She just stepped all over the comedy, rendering it flat and unfunny. Typically she sounded she was narrating a children's story, carefully enunciating and exclaiming with wonder. And really someone should tell her not to try accents. Does anyone check these narrations for errors? Park pronounces the English town referred to in one story as 'Slow' instead of 'Slough' i.e. as in rhymes with plough. While many stories were amusing, her narration annoyed me so much I just couldn't listen to it. I will have to read the text version instead.

[Gina]

The title is very misleading. None of the stories in the book can be called a catastrophe.

[Andreas Sekeris]

Short snappy stories to reassure you that you can get through whatever life will throw at you. Again I read this in the non-preferred way of cover-to-cover. The stories did all blur into each other as they are short and punchy. A better way to read this would be to dip in and out. If you're feeling a bit down, or something bad has happened, then read a few stories from this and get cheered up!

Also not sure if it was me getting tired of the stories, but the quality seemed to drop off towards the end. First few stories were obviously well rehearsed, well told. Firing an opening to drag you in, funny asides, and a great ending. Towards the end the stories felt like they needed a few more drafts. Like I said it may have been me tiring of the format towards the end. Still worth a read.

[Thu Nguyen]

A collection of funny stories, entertaining but far short of its title. The majority of these stories are more like shitty (sometimes really fucking shit) situations people found themselves in, but they're not real catastrophic event that leaves long term damages or consequences. Most of the times, these people just did stupid things, or bit off more than they could chew.

A couple of stories are more worthy, like Alannah Hill's story came from a history of true dysfunctional family past.

[Jen]

3.5 stars rounded up. Some stories I really got into, others were not as interesting. I didn’t know many of the authors that contributed stories, but there was a short bio of each of them read out at the end of the book.

As an audiobook it was recorded with strangely slow narration speed, with unnaturally long pauses. I prefer slow narration speed, so for me to want it sped up I know it’s extremely slow.

[Susan Austin]

I loved many of these stories. There's something about reading about other people's catastrophes, written in a lighthearted way, that is fun and leaves you feeling slightly better about your own. Most of the stories were well-written, punchy and enjoyable. A good book to have around when you just need a bit of distraction.

[Carolyn]

It was a gift. It's a group of short stories about catastrophes that people have experienced. Some stories were whipped up to make them dramatic and some were sincere. Some were sad and some were funny. I wouldn't recommend it as it's note my style, but I did enjoy some of the stories.

[Vireya]

Possibly better as a book to read yourself than as an audiobook. I was too frequently annoyed by odd pronunciations of names of people, places, and publications. And who (other than the reader) pronounces the body part "colon" the same as the name "Colin"?

[D'face]

Some of the stories here are laugh out loud, some are cringeworthy, foul or tragic. A great collection of stories from when life was so bad it was funny.

[Jo]

2.5 stars

[Pip Snort]

I appreciated the idea behind this book, but found it entirely unamusing.

[Kramer Thompson]

As others are saying, it's basically just a bunch of short, reasonably funny, quite light stories.

[Lyn Quilty]

A mixed bag in terms of experiences and quality of the writing, but still entertaining reading.

[Jemma (Aussie BookWorm)]

Small catastrophes, not full blown ones (mostly). But still a very enjoyable book to read on the dunny. 😆

[Carole Dent]

A mixed bag, mostly satisfying

[DonutKnow]

Life can be really shit- so it’s kind of comforting to know that people have gone through these crazy experiences and made it out the other side 😂😂🙏

[Andrea DA]

Some stories were seriously funny, some a bit average, overall a fun read

[Wan Ting]

Amidst the flurry of the pandemic, where the boundaries of work and home life are blurred. This book brings a sense of normalcy to our current not so usual situation. A form of mass therapy on the couch, where we laughed with our fellow contributors on the absurdity, hilarity of life circumstances yet moved by the resilience we possessed. Here’s to the experiences that formed us, to you that showed up and took a step forward however small. Celebrate small wins. We will all be alright and things will get better.

[Claire]

I wanted to like this more than I did. Some of the stories were engaging and interesting and then there was an awful lot of filler.