“I need to spend some time reburying in the garden. Next door’s dog has dug up a foot.”
Thus begins a surreal journal the like of which (if you’re lucky) you have never encountered before. Author John Dolan’s unnamed diarist plumbs the depths of black comedy in a way that might make your hair stand on end. Not recommended for the PC-aware or those with a weak stomach. Contains helpful tips on cooking and on murdering people.
"Makes a living by travelling, talking a lot and sometimes writing stuff down. Galericulate author, polymath and occasional smarty-pants."
John Dolan hails from a small town in the North-East of England. Before turning to writing, his career encompassed law and finance. He has run businesses in Europe, South and Central America, Africa and Asia. He and his wife Fiona currently divide their time between Thailand and the UK.
John is the author of the Time, Blood and Karma and Children of Karma series, as well as several standalone novels.
Let the satire and dark humor begin! Do you ever wonder what your neighbors are really thinking as they go into their house and dim the lights? My only wish is that the unnamed, neighboring diarist in Author Dolan’s Baking Bad doesn’t move in next door, LOL! Your worst nightmares just might become a reality…
We get the day by day, somewhat deranged account of life in the unhinged neighbor zone–a missing foot makes the rounds; the doggie next door…well, better leave that for you to read (eek!); find a date websites will never be the same; and party goers beware–it just might be a good time to abstain from the eats and drinks!
This diary of a mad man is filled with twisted laughs and giggles. It’s one of those ‘guilty pleasure’ reads that indulges you with dark humor, heinous acts and ‘no he did not’ moments as you snicker page after page. The author gives a WARNING: CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL REFERENCES, so reader beware. Baking Bad: Notes from My Diary, a highly recommended read!
For all Dolan fans, get inside the mind of the crazy killer, baker and internet stalker. Shocking and funny short diary covering the characters day to day duties at the animal testing centre, trying to sell a decaying foot on Ebay, to his encounters with shady women, oh and there's a 60s theme party. Short, very dark, dry humour. Please check it out.
I'll preface my review here by saying, this book will not be for everyone, but if you appreciate dark humor, a bizarre telling, and far from politically correct, there is laughter to be had in this book.
The diary is written by an unnamed character who enjoys stalking the internet, indulging in unhealthy habits and people as he rolls through the days in his bizarro life. He shares his deranged accounting of daily observations, which are sometimes crude and even vulgar, as well as some farout characters, shady women, a few horrifying events, and throws in a little murder and some interesting recipes in between, mostly all taking place in his neighborhood, and a crazy 60s themed party he holds in his home, where one may risk their life just eating or drinking at the venue. If you think that's a crazy mixture of happenings in one short book, it is. But if you are a fan of Dolan's tales, which I am, you will find this book a hilarious smorgasbord of entertaining weirdness. Beware of some strong language and sexual content.
This is half a book, so it only gets half a review. OTOH, it’s twice as funny as most whole books, so I was uncharacteristically willing to spend 99 cents for it.
Dolan does it again. Don’t ask me what, just take my word for it. There are lots of witty authors out there, but there are few authors who are both witty and crude. Sadly, Dolan is one of them. While you’re jonesing for his next actual novel (if you ask me, he’s a damn slow writer), you can pleasure yourself with Baking Bad. It’s funnier than any 5 episodes of Sex and the City, and it has fewer calories. Could you possibly ask more from a hand-full of salacious, crass, scatological, profane, irreverent, ghastly, raunchy, vulgar and random thoughts, craftily assembled? I thought so. If you’re not thoroughly offended by this literary hair-ball, you have no heart.
When you ‘re hooked on Dolan you’re hooked on Dolan. Fans never know what they’re in for when they start one of his books. Where is he taking us this time? We may end up lying in a dark room, sobbing, as with ‘Everyone Dies’, the final book (or is it?) in his magnificent 7-volume saga. Or, as in the case of ‘Baking Bad: Notes from My Diary’, covering your face with a cushion, wondering if you have slipped down a rabbit hole into the sort of alternative universe inhabited by the hero of ‘Fun With Dick’. (And whose diary is it anyway??) Whatever your reaction, you certainly won’t be bored, and will be compelled to read on, veering between hysterical cackles and fascinated horror, right to the very last crumb of Victoria sponge…
“I’ve just been robbed by a schizophrenic. It was me.”
You get the idea...it's slapstick. Baking Bad: Notes from My Diary is quirky, dark, and totally meaningless. Maybe I've described the author?! Ha-ha. Aren't you interested?
John Dolan has too much time on his hands (I reckon) during the pandemic. At least he’s off the streets, for now. That’s a relief!
Wear a mask and whatever you do DON’T eat the pie.
"When life gives you lemons, stick razor blades in them and throw them back very, very hard."
A little day-to-day madness goes a long way in this bonkers, gruesome, hilarious diary. Not for the pearl-clutchers, this quick read is jam-packed with, "what the f**k did he just say?" moments, and for that, Mr. Dolan, I salute you.
"I should spend some time reburying in the garden. "Next door's dog dug up a foot." With this ghoulish yet strangely domestic statement, John Dolan opens the festering Pandora's box that is Baking Bad: Notes from My Diary. What follows is a joyously macabre, darkly humorous fall into the disordered psyche of an unidentified narrator-a man who describes murder, baking and romance with the same dry detachment that he uses to replace his orange juice.
Dolan's creation is not for the faint-hearted. Or the politically correct. However, for readers with a taste for pitch-black comedy and tolerance for the bizarre, this book provides a feast of razor-sharp satire served with hemlock and sponge cake.
Baking Bad's unnerving beauty stems from its perfect contradiction. The narrator is deeply disturbed, yet unflappably British. He gives tea to thepolice officers investigating his crimes. He bakes. He mourns briefly.
Dolan doesn't shock for the sake of it-beneath the gore and giggles lies a razor-sharp critique of modern numbness. Relentlessly funny and unapologetically dark, Baking Bad dares readers to laugh, then question their own decency.
Highly recommended-for those with a strong stomach and a darker sense of humor.
When you see a book blurb that begins and end with
"WARNING: CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL REFERENCES...
Contains helpful tips on cooking and on murdering people"
you know you are in for a treat. Author John Dolan allows us a peek into the pages of a notebook come diary, maintained by an unnamed person who just happens to be a murderer. Written in Dolan's inimitable style, each and every short entry in this short book needs to be read and reread to squeeze the last drop of satirical, dark humour that permeates throughout.
Another fun read from a witty author of superb crime thrillers. An ideal book to enlighten the dismal days we currently experience. Highly recommended.
I read all John Dolan's offerings and recently read his two David Braddock series and Advenures in Mythopoeia again for sheer pleasure. Didn't expect this one, what a wonderful surprise! I read it in one sitting because I was laughing so much. Hopefully people will understand that this is satire, not everyone understands what that is and will probably will take it the wrong way. Loved the inner voice, very serious and deadpan that added so much to the humour. There's a lesson here to be learnt for any of us would-be humorists, but then I would read John Dolan's shopping list if I could! Keep them coming.