Best Man

by Matt Dunn

He's your best friend. She's the love of his life. You've got six weeks to convince him otherwise. Adam Bailey is appalled when his best friend Nick announces that he's about to marry his new girlfriend, Sandra. Can't Nick see just how wrong the loud-mouthed, bossy, gold-digging Sandra is for him? Somehow Adam has to make his friend see the error of his ways—without losing his friendship in the process. With only six weeks to go until the wedding, there's not a lot of time. But amidst the chaos, carnage and confusion which ensue in the run-up to the big day, Adam himself meets someone who will change his life in ways he could never have expected.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Comedy, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Humor

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

Matt was born in Margate, but eventually escaped to Spain to write his first novel (in between working as a newspaper columnist, and playing a lot of tennis). Previously he has been a professional lifeguard, fitness equipment salesman, and an IT head hunter, but he prefers writing for a living, so hopes people will keep buying his books.

Matt is the author of four contemporary romantic comedy novels; Best Man, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook (which was shortlisted for both the Romantic Novel Of The Year award, as well as the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance), From Here To Paternity, and Ex-Girlfriends United. He's also written about life, love, and relationships for various publications including The Times, Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Company, Elle, Glamour, and The Sun.

Several of Matt's novels have been translated for various European markets (he's big in the Balkans, apparently), as well as as far afield as Malaysia and Indonesia. He's a regular on the literary festival scene, and rates the recent lecturing stint he did on the Creative Writing degree course at London Metropolitan University as one of the most rewarding things he's ever done - and not only because of the number of ideas he was able to appropriate from his students for his books.

Reviews

[Tea Jovanović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ovog autora u Srbiji izgleda voli samo njegova urednica... :) Lad-lit... Zabavan, duhovit, autor za mlade, koji na na vešt način obrađuje savremene teme i probleme u muško-ženskim odnosima, i kroz svoje duhovite i zabavne romane prikazuje nam kako muškarci drugačije od žena doživljavaju iste "probleme"... Ovo mu je bio debitantski roman...

[Figgy · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's not a single thing that's interesting, new, or exciting about this book. Not a single character or plot element that isn't an unoriginal cliche about how horny men are and how complicated (and slutty!) those females are. I honestly don't know how I finished reading it, or why, other than not wanting to feel like the $1.99 I'd paid for it had gone to waste. I would've been better off buying a pack of tic tacs, which would've afforded far more hours of entertainment than this utterly forgettable book.

Don't waste your time on it.

[Simone Minzmakrone_liest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine nette Geschichte über Freundschaft, Eifersucht, falsch verstandene Gefühle, unausgesprochene Dinge und natürlich die Liebe.
Was sich am Anfang ruhig aufbaut, wurde mir am Ende etwas hektisch zu Ende erzählt. Insgesamt aber ein gutes Buch für Zwischendurch!

[Shafinaz S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious one! I find myself chuckling from time to time reading and re-reading some parts of the book. A very honest account of what is-in-the-mind-of-a-man or any men. Indeed.

An attempt of a friend to save his best pal from marrying his hellish girlfriend - from the eye of the friend. When one is in love - everything is in the air - cloud nine - we are blinded. But perhaps those outside us could see the deep pit we are about to get into.

Many funny moments to make the best pal see the real personality of his wife to be.

Go on..pick it up and read it. Surely, there will be no regrets.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a slow book by page 300 it gets really interesting.

[August A.P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

kalimat spontan pertama yang muncul di kepalaku saat menyelesaikan novel ini jam satu dini hari tadi, "cuma segini aja?"
yah, sayang sekali.

[Heather]

Meh. Pretty terrible.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It was interesting to have a male spin on this type of story. The characters are fun and I enjoyed the ending.

[Darrell Rivers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was not impressed with this book. Not the usual funny read by Matt Dunn, disliked the characters immensely (apart from the bar owners), and was more irritated than amused.

[Cliff · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a whole genre of books called chicklit, which I have never read and which I have no intention of reading! This book must fall into the male equivalent which, so far as I am aware, has no name as yet. Roosterlit? Macholit? Others which may occur to you as they occurred to me, but which are possibly too rude to repeat here. Anyway, it's an inoffensive little book, mildly amusing,miles away from reality, about three male friends, one married with a child, Mark, another just engaged, Nick and a third who has no intention of getting married, but spends his time tomming around London, Adam, while he and Nickone work desultorily at their money making pornography business which appears not to need their 100% attendance. Adam is concerned by Nick's engagement, because of the nature of his fiancee. He has six weeks to try and stop the wedding. In that time he meets a girl called Charlie with whom he starts what seems like a permanent relationship. Nick and Adam drink vasts quantities of alcohol and drive their fast cars hither and yon at great speeds, but are never caught by the police either for driving whilst over the limit, nor for speeding. I said it was far from reality. An easy read, worth a couple of hours of your time. I should have finished it in less than 3 days, but there were a number of circumstances which meant I wasn't able to read as fast as I normally do.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read with equally enjoyable and amusing characters. Adam's quest to save his best friend Nick from a disastrous marriage with Sandra is entertaining and Charlie's presence rounds off the not so typical romantic story. Charlie and Adam's ending was a tad ridiculous for me but I enjoyed the banter between the boys which the book had in boat loads.

[Diah Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setelah lebih dari 10 tahun punya buku ini tapi gak kebaca, akhirnya saya baca juga saat kertasnya udah menguning. Suka sih novel ala chiclit gini versi cowok. Sayang endingnya kayak... antiklimaks. Karna patokannya romcom, pengennya endingnya yg happy manis gitu dgn epilog. Ini mah cuma kayak ngobrol doang.

[Mpimas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one on the public free library (one of those take what you want and put what you want). Only because it was the last English book available from between other languages.
Very easy read, fun and funny! A light-hearted story to read between books.

[Kayde · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Couldn’t make it past a few pages. Immediately dislike the main character as he’s a bit of a knob really and from reading reviews, I don’t think I’m going to like him any more as the book goes on.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my bookshelf for at least 8years so don’t even ask me what It thought when I bought it. Needless to say it was a disappointment. I don’t think I have ever read such a boring and bland book. Sheesh.

[Mandvi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought it would be a hilarious series of events on trying to foil a wedding but turns out to be just a large number of pages filled with one man’s thoughts.
Waste of words and pages.

Not even a fun beach read.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Predictable, unoriginal and clichéd characters that are, mostly, very unlikeable. At least it was a quick read.

[Varun Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly entertaining with suprisingly unexpected turns.

[Lindsey Pasturel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some funny bits. Liked some of the characters though some seemed a bit predictable. As did the story line in parts. Not the best not the worst.

[Kristy G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat enjoyed this book entirely from a male perspective. Easy read, nothing insightful by any means...

[ijul (yuliyono) · Rating 3 out of 5]

actual rating: 3,5 star

buku ladlit lain yang disimpan dan berhasil dibaca tahun ini. meski agak bertele-tele, lumayanlah ceritanya.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy read, you know what you get with Matt Dunn novels

[Jandira Pimentel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

[Wendy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and a great read

[Michael OKeane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. My third by Matt Dunn.
Its an easy humorous read which we all need at times. Some great one liners.
Will be looking out for more from this author.

[Reinita Afif Aulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salah satu buku yang saya beli 10rebuan di Obral Buku Gramedia, dan walaupun tampangnya nggak menarik buat saya (si laki-laki di sampulnya juga bukan tipe saya) tapi akhirnya saya beli juga karena lumayan tebal. #eh

Jadi, anggap saja buku ini adalah chicklit versi pria (LadLit). Lumayan lah sebagai variasi di antara gundukan TeenLit dan Chicklit yang bertebaran, dan ini juga yang dijanjikan di halaman belakangnya sebagai "mengerti sudut pandang pria". (Lupa kata-kata tepatnya, bukunya lagi ditinggal di rumah, hehe..)

Dan ternyata, sudut pandang pria yang dimaksud adalah.. ehm, kata-katanya agak porno. Yah, apalagi sih yang bisa diharapkan kalau Si Adam, Nick, dan Mark mendapat penghasilan-enam-digit dollar dari situs portal PleazeYourself Pornographic Club? Yang saya bisa jamin adalah setelah membaca buku ini, pengetahuan Anda tentang kata-kata mesum akan jauh meningkat, sehingga membuat saya malah jadi bertanya-tanya apakah semua laki-laki itu mesum. Tapi jangan khawatir tentang adegan-adegan pornoaksi yang tidak muncul di novel ini..

Ringkas cerita, Mark sudah menikah (dengan mantan Adam), Adam masih mencari wanita yang tepat (semua diputuskan hanya dalam sekali kencan!) sedangkan Nick berencana menikah dengan Sandra. Jelas Adam tidak rela karena menurutnya Sandra hanya mengincar uang Nick. Tapi Nick kelihatan begitu bahagia, membuat Adam ragu-ragu memperingatkannya. Di saat yang sama, sepertinya Adam telah menemukan wanita pujaannya..

Jadi, menurut buku ini, para pria sulit membicarakan masalah pribadinya dari hati ke hati (curhat?), karena privasi antar individu amat dijaga. Bahkan, sepertinya lebih umum membiarkan seseorang jatuh terperosok lebih dahulu daripada memperingatkannya. (Yang sepertinya tidak akan digubris juga..) Apakah ini memang benar-benar terjadi? Yah, mari kita tunggu saja para pria mengklarifikasikan masalah ini.

Kesimpulannya, novel ini lumayan bagus, bisa membuat saya senyum-senyum sendiri sejenak, walaupun sisi romantisnya kurang terasa..

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it 2 stars because it said "it was ok", which is exactly how I felt about it. I didn't exactly hate it, but I didn't enjoy the book very much at all. I didn't like any of the characters, except Adam's parents, and Rudy and Pritchard (they were the only people who seem to have some personality). I felt like the author didn't even bother to make me like the characters, or the plot for that matter. It was a bit of a loosely woven yarn, if that makes sense. This is the first time I have ever felt compelled to write a review (or rather, expression on what I felt and thought about a book), because the main character really didn't do it for me. As a girl, I find him completely shallow, and there isn't a single trait about him that I would like. Granted, I would probably sleep with him because he's good looking (according to him anyway), but I don't see myself dating him, or be in any kind of romantic relationship with him at all. I honestly don't get what Charlie saw in him. He just comes off as completely shallow. It would have been okay if he was at least kind, or passionate.. but no, didn't see any evidence of that either. Like I said, it was as if the writer didn't bother.

But anyway, I rarely hate a book (and I didn't actually hate this one), hence the two stars. And I only finished it because I always finish a book. You can pick it up and see how you feel about it, but you'd probably be better off spending that money elsewhere.

[Dion Sagirang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baru tahu kaver versi aslinya lebih eye catching dari versi terjemahan. Teman saya bahkan menganggap novel ini bergenre Gay-Romance, dari kavernya yang bergambar laki-laki dengan tuksedo.

Namun, genrenya adalah Ladlit atau Guylit, bukan Gaylit. Chicklit versi laki-laki. Buku yang ketika mulai belajar nulis masuk kategori buku yang saya cari-cari.

Mengisahkan tentang Adam berserta kedua temannya, Nick yang royal dan Mark yang setelah menikah, tanggung jawabnya menjadi lebih besar, termasuk bentuk tubuh dan wajah tampannya yang membulat dan ditumbuhi dagu keduanya.
Tentang persahabatan yang cukup kental dan juga kisah cinta yang dituturkan dari sudut pandang laki-laki, Adam. Tentang perusahaan yang bergerak di situs porno dan tentang kisah percintaan Adam dengan para gadisnya yang berharap memiliki nama yang enak didengar. Bukan nama-nama berunsur sastra, nama selebritis, ataupun berhubungan dengan Injil. Tapi dia mulai jatuh cinta kepada Charlie, nama yang juga dipakai laki-laki. Membayangkan ketika bercinta dan menyebut-nyebut nama Charlie. Tidak terbayangkan, memang. Namun kenyataannya mereka menjalin hubungan yang sangat serius.

Kuberitahu, isi novel ini adalah pemetaan sebagian--atau kebanyakan--pemikiran laki-laki. Bertempo sedang dan sedikit melelahkan, tapi terlalu sayang untuk ditinggalkan.

[Wieta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pengarang buku ini cowok, tapi ternyata cerewet juga. Jadi di semua bagian buku terdapat embel2 cerita yang menurut saya malah lebih banyak dari inti cerita. Mungkin itu sebabnya buku ini lumayan tebal. Dan jika tidak benar2 ada waktu luang, saya rasa akan sulit untuk menyelesaikan buku ini.

Cerita intinya sebenarnya biasa2 saja mengenai 3 sahabat: Adam, Nick dan Mark. Mark sudah married sementara Adam dan Nick msh lajang. Nick memiliki teman wanita tetap 'Sandra' dan memutuskan untuk berumah tangga. Sementara itu, Adam (si 'aku') merasa bahwa keputusan Nick untuk menikah adalah bencana karena Adam menilai Sandra hanya ingin mengeruk harta Nick saja. Adam sendiri selama ini gonta-ganti teman wanita dimana teman2nya 'menyalahkan' Adam sebagai pria yang takut ber-komitmen.

Banyak kembangan2 cerita mengenai pemikiran Adam dsb..dsb... Menghibur juga sih tapi tidak membuat kita ingin terus membaca.

Satu hal lagi yang agak aneh. Adam dan Nick mendirikan usaha patungan website. Dan dari usaha yang main2 ini, Tidak perlu bekerja, tapi penghasilannya besar sehingga Nick bisa membeli Jaguar dan Adam bisa membeli rumah. Asyik sekali ya, company-nya terkesan jalan sendiri tanpa harus dikelola dengan serius.

[Ravi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an avid geek and bookworm, I know that the genre of 'chic-lit' has been around for many years. However, the arrival of this book hails a counterpart for the more masculine people on the planet - LadLit.
Meet Adam Bailey. He's your usual, inner-city, laddish playboy, complete with matching bachelor pad. He's often avoided or been deterred by love due to a few minute details - whether it be a lady having a rather masculine first name, a lady not being able to pronounce the word 'espresso', or a lady being just too clingy, Adam's always found a way to wriggle out of cupid's chokehold.
This time, though, it's not Adam who needs to be freed from the talons of a lovestruck lady. Nick, his wingman and best friend, is about to make the biggest mistake of his life by entering into the marriage of loud-mouthed, bossy Sandra. Adam has just a mere few weeks to help his mate realise the predicament his entering into, and save him from a life of pain.
But whilst he tries to make love lose his friend, will it find him?
A stunning debut by Matt Dunn who cements LadLit as a solid and respected genre, and writes a tale that is incredibly funny, but does not skimp on the tension, drama, and characterisation. A must-read on all accounts!