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Hello Darling, Are You Working?
Alternative edition for ISBN# 038072152X.
"A very funny comedy of errors." John Tanasychuk, Detroit Free Press.
"What a surprise: British actor Rupert Everett writes as well (or as good) as he looks." Vogue
"Upper-crust wit at its most amusing." William Norwich, NY Post.
Rupert Everett has played lead roles in such films as Dance With a Stranger and Another Country, and on television in Princess Daisy and The Far Pavilions. Any resemblance between his novel and his actual life is undoubtedly coincidental.
"A very funny comedy of errors." John Tanasychuk, Detroit Free Press.
"What a surprise: British actor Rupert Everett writes as well (or as good) as he looks." Vogue
"Upper-crust wit at its most amusing." William Norwich, NY Post.
Rupert Everett has played lead roles in such films as Dance With a Stranger and Another Country, and on television in Princess Daisy and The Far Pavilions. Any resemblance between his novel and his actual life is undoubtedly coincidental.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Rupert Everett
15 books90 followersRupert James Hector Everett is a two-time Golden Globe-nominated English film actor, author and former singer.
He first came into public attention in the early 1980s when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country for playing an openly homosexual student at an English public school, set in the 1930s. Since then he has appeared in many other films with mostly major roles, including My Best Friend's Wedding, The Next Best Thing and the Shrek sequels.
He first came into public attention in the early 1980s when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country for playing an openly homosexual student at an English public school, set in the 1930s. Since then he has appeared in many other films with mostly major roles, including My Best Friend's Wedding, The Next Best Thing and the Shrek sequels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 24, 2008
Don't ask me why I read this.
November 14, 2021
This book is... much much better than you think it's going to be. Everett writes with a style that can maybe best be described as Henry Fielding meets Bret Easten Ellis, but with a deeper sense of compassion for his characters than either of those more venerated authors. Predominantly hilarious, occasionally and unexpectedly moving, the adventures of call boy turned actor turned call boy Rhys are clearly meant to be both autobiographical and satirical, and at its best moments the book bullseyes that kind of tragicomedic farce of manners that the British tend to do so well, a la Absolutely Fabulous or Noel Coward. Everett's genius is in his ability to get you to actually care about it all, and Rhys at the center of it, no matter how ridiculous it and he get. There's something deeply human and sincere at the heart of all the satire and cleverness and when you get there is, surprisingly, satisfying.
August 4, 2015
Despite his undeniable talent as an actor, Everett is probably an even more talented writer. Laugh out loud funny, this books is a thinly veiled autobiography, with plenty added for comic effect of course. I wish he would write more of this kind of novel.
January 7, 2020
2.5 stars.
This is a witty satire on the British young aristocracy about a youthful noble playboy turned actor and, now out of work, gigolo. It was funny, but there were far too many drugs in this book for me to enjoy it whole-heartedly plus I completely did not understand the ending. A disappointment.
This is a witty satire on the British young aristocracy about a youthful noble playboy turned actor and, now out of work, gigolo. It was funny, but there were far too many drugs in this book for me to enjoy it whole-heartedly plus I completely did not understand the ending. A disappointment.
October 17, 2008
Picture a very long episode of Ab Fab written by the playwright Joe Orton (Loot) and you've got Rupert Everett's debut novel. The story is filled with cinematic and visual humor that I think would've lent itself better to a movie than it does to a novel.
February 27, 2008
Strange book. I read about 3/4's of it and stopped.
May 22, 2008
A fictional book that mirrors his biography "Red Carpets and Banana Skins". I enjoyed it immensely.
June 30, 2008
Just a supremely funny book. Very Brit, very tongue-in-whatever. Decadent. Hilarious cast of characters.
July 3, 2026
I bought this 1992 ARC at a used bookstore, probably for $0.99 in June 2015 if the sticker is anything to go by. That seems right. I finally picked it up off my shelf yesterday because it's toooo hoooot outside and I wanted to read something silly and low stakes.
It is silly, so that was a success, but there's serious emotional stakes too. I was tempted to tag it "historical" because it's so firmly situated in 1987. A year before I was born, so I don't know, maybe he got it all wrong, but it felt real to me. Depicts a midcentury gay identity that's all tangled up with transfemininity, and coming into the anxious hangover of AIDS and 1980s work and money culture. It resonated with the "dethroning the queen" chapter of A Short History of Trans Misogyny, which I've been too hot and tired to finish.
It's a satire, it's a bit free with various prejudices, but it does manage to get most of the ridicule focused on upper class Brits (and whatever a Hooray is?), with a sideline in wealthy Americans. Even so, I was somehow rooting for every character. It reminded me of Flashman in the satire and the extreme Britishness of it all, but I could barely read Flashman because he was too horrible to root for. I don't know how you tweak the recipe to come up with one or the other. Something about Rhys and co being incompetent in ways that hurt both themselves and others, but also frequently generous to each other for no reason? (It would probably help if I had read Flashman less than 20 years ago.)
The ink drawings are cute and add to the story. Rhys really is a grown up Eloise, who's discovered sex and drugs and that somebody eventually has to pay for the room service.
The end is
I was going to say 3/5 but I think I've talked myself into 4/5. It doesn't look like Everett ever wrote another of these, which is a bummer! Wonder if there's fanfic.
It is silly, so that was a success, but there's serious emotional stakes too. I was tempted to tag it "historical" because it's so firmly situated in 1987. A year before I was born, so I don't know, maybe he got it all wrong, but it felt real to me. Depicts a midcentury gay identity that's all tangled up with transfemininity, and coming into the anxious hangover of AIDS and 1980s work and money culture. It resonated with the "dethroning the queen" chapter of A Short History of Trans Misogyny, which I've been too hot and tired to finish.
It's a satire, it's a bit free with various prejudices, but it does manage to get most of the ridicule focused on upper class Brits (and whatever a Hooray is?), with a sideline in wealthy Americans. Even so, I was somehow rooting for every character. It reminded me of Flashman in the satire and the extreme Britishness of it all, but I could barely read Flashman because he was too horrible to root for. I don't know how you tweak the recipe to come up with one or the other. Something about Rhys and co being incompetent in ways that hurt both themselves and others, but also frequently generous to each other for no reason? (It would probably help if I had read Flashman less than 20 years ago.)
The ink drawings are cute and add to the story. Rhys really is a grown up Eloise, who's discovered sex and drugs and that somebody eventually has to pay for the room service.
The end is
I was going to say 3/5 but I think I've talked myself into 4/5. It doesn't look like Everett ever wrote another of these, which is a bummer! Wonder if there's fanfic.
August 19, 2023
A funny sondure into Ruperts life veiled as fiction. I've read it many times and have the pleasure of owning the hard copy! It is light and pleasurable.
July 1, 2025
this really reminds me of john waters books, really chaotic and absurd pandemonium!! he definitely needed to shorten it as it got a bit tiresome towards the end, but it's fun to read.
July 1, 2025
this really reminds me of john waters books, really chaotic and absurd pandemonium!! he definitely needed to shorten it as it got a bit tiresome towards the end, but it's fun to read.
March 12, 2017
This book was unexpectedly endearing. Though some of the "lingo" was above my head (being an American reader of a later time), I was able to get the jist of it. I am not always a big fan of these particular subject matters, but Everett makes the characters sympathetic through their faults, touches on subjects which supply sincere depth and pathos, and seems to leave the overall impression that the heroes of the story, at least, did not so much *choose* this life as fell into it; and thus those of us, like me, who've lived safely all our lives and more or less inconsiderately cast stones are forced to reconsider our high horses.
One dislikes to be critical but I feel it must be said so that expectations are accurate that the writing itself is, in my possibly pointless opinion, not great. Descriptions change from sentence to sentence--which for all I know was entirely intentional, and may have been meant to illustrate Rhys' thought-processes; but if so I personally did not enjoy it. As a first novel, however, this can be allowed for, and as mentioned above the overall storyline/moral and excellent characterization make up for this, and I find myself sorry Everett's writing career was so limited.
One dislikes to be critical but I feel it must be said so that expectations are accurate that the writing itself is, in my possibly pointless opinion, not great. Descriptions change from sentence to sentence--which for all I know was entirely intentional, and may have been meant to illustrate Rhys' thought-processes; but if so I personally did not enjoy it. As a first novel, however, this can be allowed for, and as mentioned above the overall storyline/moral and excellent characterization make up for this, and I find myself sorry Everett's writing career was so limited.
December 4, 2024
Rupert Everett is invited to dinner
November 19, 2009
The first book I've read that can be accurately called a catty gay picaresque. Not sure how many of those the world needs, to be honest, but I wanted something fluffy to balance the textbooks, and Rupert Everett's novel fit the bill.
Everett, you should know, is an excellent British actor who never quite received the fame and career he deserved -- probably because he is a proudly gay man, and that still scares (unenlightened) people. The book's protagonist, Rhys, known also as Dorhys, Dorita and Lady Beth Fraser, would be an excellent role for Everett, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn he had intended this story to become a screenplay rather than a novel. It reads like a movie, with snappy/bitchy conversation and fun throwbacks to classic Hollywood movies like Sunset Boulevard, Auntie Mame and The Sound of Music.
I enjoyed the book but have a few complaints:
1. It's too deliberately "cute". Rhys's multiple names, the bevy of nicknames Rhys has for everyone else, the pencil sketches, the chapter subtitles (which, like Winnie-the-Pooh, all start with "in which...") -- I am not opposed to any of these per se, but eventually I stopped paying attention to them, and that's the problem with stylistic flourishes/idiosyncrasies: Like Swiss Cake rolls, they're hard to stomach in multiples.
2. I am perplexed that in so many books, homosexuals are depicted as prostitutes and junkies. Hello Darling, ... doesn't annoy me in this way as badly as other books have, and that's probably due to Everett's obviously satirical tone and the incongruous but well-intentioned references to serious topics facing the "gay world" -- AIDS, gay marriage, etc. Yet the fact remains: Rhys and his friends are constantly drinking, smoking joints, snorting cocaine, popping valium and Ecstacy, and shooting heroin, and often at the same time. Addiction is a reality of certain quarters of the homosexual community -- not that there aren't plenty of nonhomosexuals who are addicts -- but why must fiction so often associate drugs and gay people?
3. The conclusion. I won't spoil it for you here, but WTF.
Anyway. I picked this book up because, like I said, I wanted a distraction from the heavier coursework. And yet as I read it I couldn't help but wonder how a professor would approach it. Do students already read this book in their queer theory courses? What does the book, with all its addiction and sexual irresponsibility, tell us about the world in which even aristocratic gay men must live? A hundred years from now, when the battle for gay equality has been won, will scholars look back at Rupert Everett as a once-marginalized "pillar" of gay fiction?
The book is a bit scatterbrained to be called a "critique", yet many critical elements are present. Whether or not that was Everett's intention, we may never know.
Everett, you should know, is an excellent British actor who never quite received the fame and career he deserved -- probably because he is a proudly gay man, and that still scares (unenlightened) people. The book's protagonist, Rhys, known also as Dorhys, Dorita and Lady Beth Fraser, would be an excellent role for Everett, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn he had intended this story to become a screenplay rather than a novel. It reads like a movie, with snappy/bitchy conversation and fun throwbacks to classic Hollywood movies like Sunset Boulevard, Auntie Mame and The Sound of Music.
I enjoyed the book but have a few complaints:
1. It's too deliberately "cute". Rhys's multiple names, the bevy of nicknames Rhys has for everyone else, the pencil sketches, the chapter subtitles (which, like Winnie-the-Pooh, all start with "in which...") -- I am not opposed to any of these per se, but eventually I stopped paying attention to them, and that's the problem with stylistic flourishes/idiosyncrasies: Like Swiss Cake rolls, they're hard to stomach in multiples.
2. I am perplexed that in so many books, homosexuals are depicted as prostitutes and junkies. Hello Darling, ... doesn't annoy me in this way as badly as other books have, and that's probably due to Everett's obviously satirical tone and the incongruous but well-intentioned references to serious topics facing the "gay world" -- AIDS, gay marriage, etc. Yet the fact remains: Rhys and his friends are constantly drinking, smoking joints, snorting cocaine, popping valium and Ecstacy, and shooting heroin, and often at the same time. Addiction is a reality of certain quarters of the homosexual community -- not that there aren't plenty of nonhomosexuals who are addicts -- but why must fiction so often associate drugs and gay people?
3. The conclusion. I won't spoil it for you here, but WTF.
Anyway. I picked this book up because, like I said, I wanted a distraction from the heavier coursework. And yet as I read it I couldn't help but wonder how a professor would approach it. Do students already read this book in their queer theory courses? What does the book, with all its addiction and sexual irresponsibility, tell us about the world in which even aristocratic gay men must live? A hundred years from now, when the battle for gay equality has been won, will scholars look back at Rupert Everett as a once-marginalized "pillar" of gay fiction?
The book is a bit scatterbrained to be called a "critique", yet many critical elements are present. Whether or not that was Everett's intention, we may never know.
April 20, 2012
Fiction books written by actors and actresses always bemuse me. It’s like watching an elephant tap dance. The performance doesn’t have to be particularly good; you’re just amazed that it’s done at all. The young Rhys Waveral isn’t your average little boy. From the very beginning, he knew he wanted to be an actress. That’s right, ACTRESS. There were just a couple of things in the way...
From these embarrassing beginnings, we witness a character’s determination to seize life by the ba—um, horns. He drinks, takes drugs, sleeps around, runs up debt and all with frantic Falstaffian fervour. Whatever is done is done with almost crazed excess. It’s a fast-speed trip more like a hurtling train wreck than a rollercoaster ride. A vivid encapsulation of a bygone decade, “Hello Darling” says a lot more about its times than about its protagonist. But you can’t stop reading as you wonder, “How will he get himself out of this?”
From these embarrassing beginnings, we witness a character’s determination to seize life by the ba—um, horns. He drinks, takes drugs, sleeps around, runs up debt and all with frantic Falstaffian fervour. Whatever is done is done with almost crazed excess. It’s a fast-speed trip more like a hurtling train wreck than a rollercoaster ride. A vivid encapsulation of a bygone decade, “Hello Darling” says a lot more about its times than about its protagonist. But you can’t stop reading as you wonder, “How will he get himself out of this?”
November 15, 2012
"Divided into three acts like a stage play, "Hello Darling, Are You Working?" is liberally and wonderfully illustrated by Frances Crichton Stuart. The pictures are like the black-and-white, pen-and-ink drawings found in a children's storybook.
Although Rhys [the main character] is supposed to be a gay man, there is very little in the book to suggest this, which is [one] reason I found [the book] of no significance to me as a reader or to gay literature in general. There are so much hijinks going on that the reader becomes exhausted and loses the thread of the story. The question arises: What is the point of it all?"
The above is an excerpt from a review I wrote in the Lambda Book Report (November/December 1992) and reprinted in my blog www.urbanbookmaven.blogspot.com (October 15, 2012) under the title "An Escort in Tangiers."
Although Rhys [the main character] is supposed to be a gay man, there is very little in the book to suggest this, which is [one] reason I found [the book] of no significance to me as a reader or to gay literature in general. There are so much hijinks going on that the reader becomes exhausted and loses the thread of the story. The question arises: What is the point of it all?"
The above is an excerpt from a review I wrote in the Lambda Book Report (November/December 1992) and reprinted in my blog www.urbanbookmaven.blogspot.com (October 15, 2012) under the title "An Escort in Tangiers."
March 24, 2016
This book follows Rhys Waveral, a. k. a. Dorhys, Dorita, Wavy, Rhyssie, Lancelot, and Keith--depending on what drugs his on, or what part he's playing--either in life or acting.
Rhys gets in trouble when the stock market crashes in 1987, thus leaving him with an exorbitant debt at the Hotel Leicester in Paris. Strip of all his assets, Rhys has only one thing to sell--himself.
Thus the farce is set that will transpire in Tangier, Morocco at the annual costume ball given to all the rich Brit ex pats.
The book should be read high on drugs--for I believe it was written that way and for that audience.
Funny at times, but crazy as all hell, it was a fun and easy read.
Rhys gets in trouble when the stock market crashes in 1987, thus leaving him with an exorbitant debt at the Hotel Leicester in Paris. Strip of all his assets, Rhys has only one thing to sell--himself.
Thus the farce is set that will transpire in Tangier, Morocco at the annual costume ball given to all the rich Brit ex pats.
The book should be read high on drugs--for I believe it was written that way and for that audience.
Funny at times, but crazy as all hell, it was a fun and easy read.
July 7, 2008
Delighful. One suspects some of these adventures are drawn from Rupert Everett's life. I've re-read this book countless times. It's the story of a young English boy who would rather play dress up than grow up, so he becomes an actor. A fortuitous meeting in a bathroom with his soon-to-be-future agent lands him a recurring role on an American sitcom, and it's off to the races.
Along the way, he dabbles in: Homosex, hetrosex, drugs, marriage, costume parties, debt, jewels, drugs, face creams, and parties.
just read it- it's fun.
Along the way, he dabbles in: Homosex, hetrosex, drugs, marriage, costume parties, debt, jewels, drugs, face creams, and parties.
just read it- it's fun.
January 30, 2009
'Darling Are You Working' is Rupert Everett's entertaining novelization of his years working as a male hustler in England and America. The cast of characters is a bright melange of drag queens, speed freaks, and crusty cultural dons who act as foils.
Worth it if just for the chapter where the Everett character's military dad accidentally takes acid and makes out with a transvestite. Frothy, nonsense fun
Worth it if just for the chapter where the Everett character's military dad accidentally takes acid and makes out with a transvestite. Frothy, nonsense fun
July 8, 2009
This definitely felt like a book that was published because of the author's name, not because it was a good story. It was all over the place, with flashbacks and change of protagonist for bits and pieces, ludicrous characters that I couldn't keep apart for the life of me, persistent cases of forgetting the "show, don't tell" rule and a general feeling of "bad story, why am I still reading this".
Rupert Everett is a good actor, but he should stop publishing books.
Rupert Everett is a good actor, but he should stop publishing books.
March 13, 2009
Have you ever read a book in which you were sure it was getting ready to be very interesting? This is what it is like to read Hello Darling, Are you Working. I loved the little sketches and the tongue in cheek intros to each chapter but in the end I was left wanting.
July 7, 2010
Interesting read... the characters are sketched out beautifully, but I just didn't enjoy their story very much. But I definitely appreciated Everett's use of language. I will save this one to read again later and see if I appreciate the story when in a different frame of mind.
August 24, 2010
Quite funny semi-bio from renowned actor Rupert Everett. It tells the story of him as a young man, becoming a rent boy, a druggie, and his dream of becoming a great actress by the name of Lady Beth Fraser. Funny, but not Hugh Laurie-funny. Very 90's.
July 18, 2012
I liked Rupert Everett's book. I was surprised. This is like saddling right up next to the movie star and finding out what if feels like to be him and know what his life is like.
The story was simple and not super original but I think he's a good writer. This is a quick fun summer read.
The story was simple and not super original but I think he's a good writer. This is a quick fun summer read.
June 13, 2007
Rupert Everett's "fictional" account of being a male escort. Need I say more?
August 16, 2007
Good fun, especially the very first chapter which made me laugh so hard I forgave the rest of the book for being a little bit self-indulgent and precious.
March 8, 2008
Good potential, great humor.
November 22, 2008
quick, easy read...and hysterical.
June 1, 2009
I tried to like this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews