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King of the Castle
Is any family normal? This is a very funny and very real story of domestic mayhem, of a family in melt-down, of the barely organized chaos, of sibling warfare, not to mention the diplomatic breakdown between parents.
- GenresFiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 17, 2012
I think I should avoid books from comedians that do not have a story.
There are some merits to this book of family life, as it is reasonably amusing, but the main problem is that the character doesn't grow and there is no sense of story. It is merely a sequence of often unrelated chapters that allow the author to comment on his concerns, whether they are humourous family concerns or moral dilemenas on whether to cheat.
The book is autobiographical and self referential, as it talks about a humourous journalist, called Martin Plimmer, struggling to write a proper novel... and the opening page referencing the closing page as he finally sits down to the task at home.
The writer is a financially struggling family man, with extended domestic help (which straight away means that your sympathy for him is on the wain) living in a crumbling six bedroom house with the builders in.
He has children of various ages and a long suffering wife but the characterisation is terrible. We know little about their motivations or what they think of him.
At times, it was pleasantly page turning but on the whole a distinct waste of time which was nowhere near as clever or funny as the author felt it was.
There are some merits to this book of family life, as it is reasonably amusing, but the main problem is that the character doesn't grow and there is no sense of story. It is merely a sequence of often unrelated chapters that allow the author to comment on his concerns, whether they are humourous family concerns or moral dilemenas on whether to cheat.
The book is autobiographical and self referential, as it talks about a humourous journalist, called Martin Plimmer, struggling to write a proper novel... and the opening page referencing the closing page as he finally sits down to the task at home.
The writer is a financially struggling family man, with extended domestic help (which straight away means that your sympathy for him is on the wain) living in a crumbling six bedroom house with the builders in.
He has children of various ages and a long suffering wife but the characterisation is terrible. We know little about their motivations or what they think of him.
At times, it was pleasantly page turning but on the whole a distinct waste of time which was nowhere near as clever or funny as the author felt it was.
July 29, 2011
When the real emotion chipped its way through the walls of comedy bluster (occasionally as flimsily constructed as Bert the Builder's work) and frustrating, depression-induced inactivity, this was a reasonable read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews