John O'FarrellRecensioni

Emma and Eddie Hughes are dyed in the wool Labourites living in the Tory seat of Hastings on Sea. Eddie is a local councillor and Emma works for a non-profit, their sone, Dylan, has just finished studying at Oxford. When Dylan returns home he confesses to his parents that he is actually a Tory and proceeds to join the party. For Emma and Eddie this is a betrayal of all they hold dear but can family love overcome the political divide.
There's no doubting the fact that this is a novel of its time but that doesn't make it any less funny. O'Farrell has tuned into the extremes of British politics and crammed this story full of Brexit, migrants, 'woke' thinking as well as traditional political issues. It's a quick read but is profound for all its lightness and I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates plaques with silly sayings on them!

Indeholder "About the Author", "Praise for Things Can Only Get Better", "Acknowledgements", "Author's note", "Where there is discord ... -- General Election - 3 May 1979", "Best foot forward -- Labour Leadership Election - 4 and 10 November 1980", "Jobs not bombs -- American Presidential Election - 4 November 1980", "Political animals -- Labour Party Deputy Leadership Election - 27 September 1981", "Gotcha -- English County Council Elections - 6 May 1982", "Labour hold Jarrow -- General Election - 9 June 1983", "Gissa job -- Exeter Guild of Students Elections - 7 March 1984", "Working for London -- North Battersea GLC By-Election - 27 June 1985", "Labour of love -- Election of Queenstown Ward Secretary - 13 January 1986", "Westminster, please -- Fulham By-Election - 10 April 1986", "The jewel in the crown -- Wandsworth Council Elections - Queenstown Ward - 8 May 1986", "Three cheers for Alf Dubs -- General Election - 11 June 1987", "I know thee not, old man -- Labour Party Leadership Election - 1 October 1988", "The road to Tiananmen Square -- European Elections - 15 June 1989", "The candidate -- Wandsworth Council Elections - Fairfield Ward - 3 May 1990", "Maggie Maggie Maggie – gone gone gone -- Conservative Party Leadership Election - 20 and 27 November 1990", "April fool -- General Election - 9 April 1992", "Bacon is delicious -- Labour Leadership Election - 18 July 1992", "My party, right or left -- Lambeth Council Elections - 5 May 1994", "It's a wonderful life -- Halifax Building Society Conversion Ballot - 23 February 1997", "Things can only get better -- General Election - 1 May 1997".

En samling erindringsglimt. Skrevet med tungen i kinden, tror jeg. Han var Labour-mand og det var en ørkenvandring i tiden med Margaret Thatcher. Og ja, Michael Foot blev aldrig premierminister.

Muchos maridos olvidan cosas. Olvidan que esa mañana sus mujeres tienen una reunión importante, se olvidan de recoger la ropa de la tintorería o se olvidan de comprar a su esposa un regalo de cumpleaños... Pero Vaughan se ha olvidado incluso de que tiene una mujer. Ha olvidado su nombre, su rostro, toda la historia que comparten, todas las cosas que ella le haya podido contar, todo lo que alguna vez él le haya dicho a ella, Todo eso ha desaparecido, se borró en el catastrófico instante en el que Vaughan perdió la memoria. Y ahora que ha redescubierto a su esposa se entera también de que están a punto de divorciarse.

Propagating the myth of Dunkirk.

Funny only in a forced, unfunny way.

A funny, personal and interesting account of the years from 1997 to 2017 for a Labour supporter. Some of those times were agony to remember, others were entertaining. The ups and downs of politics are here as John O'Farrell tries to understand voters, stands as a candidate himself and mirrors politics with his campaign to open a new school. He talks about the need for compromise and caring for people. An excellent read.

It was okay. The plot was quite predictable but I found the characters likeable.

Hilarious, sweet, fun and crazy. Love those qualities...in a book.

A very English view of history from Roman imes up to around nowish sometime.

I found it funny but I have read that others found his humour tiring. I don’t remember any jokes fron History lessons at school so I enjoyed it. It also filled in a few blanksbut I can’t remember which. Light and Breezy.

This is dry, thoughtful and very witty English humor, all packed into 107 pages where the author has treated what could easily be a very dulling subject (capitalism) into paranoia and fun; weave into that what you may.

The tube stops on the Jubilee line. The speaker announces that while you shouldn't fret, capitalism has stopped working and while things sort themselves out, yes, you're stuck underground.

So people actually start talking to each other, and what commences is a whirl through modern day, people like Thatcher, Marx and Chomsky, ideas and fracas. Commendable book, I say, tut-tut.

The great thing about the Penguin Lines series is that it encourages me to read stories that are generally outside my comfort zone. I confess that I wouldn’t normally have picked up A History of Capitalism According to the Jubilee Line. On reading it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was clever, with more than a little bit of snark about our modern ways.

The author starts by mentioning the strangest dream he had about the Jubilee Line. It is a normal day on the Tube, with nobody speaking to each other and everyone fixed on their own thoughts. The everyday journey is disrupted by an announcement over the loudspeaker that there is a problem with the train, which is all due to capitalism. England is now in an economic downwards spiral and it directly affects these passengers. A tunnel under the Thames is collapsing and to escape the passengers have a choice to go left or right. Which is the correct way? The passengers begin to talk, then argue about the reason for the collapse and which way will be safest. It tests their ideologies, with a little help with some notable figures in history.

A History of Capitalism According to the Jubilee Line is slightly surreal, bizarre and overall good fun. I loved the economic and political concepts that made their way into the text and the inner turmoil as the narrator pondered whether he had been wrong all along in these political choices. It gives the reader something to ponder too. But luckily, it was all a dream…right? Or is it symbolism of what was to come?

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

Lots of husbands forget things. They forget their wives had an important meeting that morning; they forget to pick up the dry-cleaning; some of them even forget their wedding anniversary. However, the catastrophic memory loss Vaughan becomes aware of when he is on a train means that not only has he forgotten that he even has a wife – her name, her face, everything they ever did together, even the fact that they have two children – he has forgotten his own name and everything single thing from his past. Admitted to hospital, it is only when his best friend, Gary, recognises his photograph in a newspaper that Vaughan discovers not only that his wife Maddy exists, but that they are in the middle of an acrimonious divorce. However, as soon as he sees her he falls in love with her all over again and, as his memory gradually starts to return, he becomes determined to learn from his earlier mistakes, to become a better man, husband and father and to win her back. But Maddy remembers all too clearly how he used to behave, so can she really trust the “born-again” Vaughan?
Although I found that this story had some thought-provoking observations on the complexities of marital relationships, how couples share parenting responsibilities, reflections on friendships, on how frightening it must be to completely lose your memory, the nature of identity etc., I found far too many of the jokes were reliant on clichés and stereotypes. Much of the time I felt as though I was reading chick-lit for men and so, just as chick-lit for women holds little appeal, I very soon found myself getting irritated by the characters and the storyline. For me there were just too many rather weak jokes which very soon became tedious and, eventually, a major distraction. In my opinion the book would have stood a chance of being better with far fewer of them … and if it had been about a hundred pages shorter!
Reviewers claim that it’s a rare treat … hilarious … heart-tugging … a memorable comedy … another slice of comic genius, but I have to admit that I find it difficult to agree with these descriptions! However, I did find the account of Gary setting up a Wikipedia page so that family and friends could post recollections which would help history-teacher Vaughan to build up a picture of his past-history, only to have pupils post all manner of mischievous contributions, very funny. So too was Vaughan’s attempt to give a eulogy at his father’s funeral when he had no recollection of what his father had been like!

I really enjoyed the story and though it was very witty in places

"I had spent my childhood doing what my parents wanted to do and now my adulthood seemed doomed to be spent doing what my children wanted to do."

Narrator and central character Michael Adams is a 32 year old freelance jingle writer living in north London with a wife and two young children to support. Michael is disillusioned with work and the demands of family life where he feels constantly undermined by his wife, Catherine. On the pretence that he can no longer work from home, he decides to share a flat in south London with a group of bachelors. Thus creating himself a double life. In one he is a free and single young man who spends most of his day lounging in bed, going to parties or taking part in trivia quizzes with his flatmates. Then at the weekend he returns home to domesticity and parenthood with all the trials and tribulations which that engenders. Neither his flatmates or his wife knows about the duplicitous life he is leading.

Michael initially believes that Catherine copes with the children much better when he is not about and that he is a better husband by staying away throughout the week returning home well rested and thus more jovial at the weekend. He doesn't notice that Catherine is in reality putting on a front and is struggling with the harsh demands of motherhood with a stay away partner. Michael eventually comes to realise that his double life is having a financial and an emotional cost on his family so decides to move out of the flat and back home permanently. However, in the meantime Catherine discovers his secret and leaves home herself with the kids. Michael finally wakes up to what being a father really entails. He himself had grown up without one as his own had run off with a series of women when Michael was young. This at least gives some mitigating background to Michael's own behaviour whilst at the same time giving the tale a little added substance.

On the credit side there is a restless energy and a pleasing ironic style throughout along with some rather clever ideas. It is a well observed, if grossly exaggerated, piece of work about the differences between the stay at home home-maker and the going out to work partner with their excuses to not rushing home at the end of the working day.

However, on debit side I felt that far too long was often spent on delivering one single joke meaning that many of the gags missed the mark and whilst I might have read this with a smile on my face I didn't laugh out loud.

This is undoubtedly a lads' mag sort of novel, light and none too demanding, ideal for a long flight/train journey, or something to peruse whilst sipping sangria beside a pool somewhere and as such will help fill a certain void. It isn't by any means a bad novel, it is not one that will probably live long in the memory either.½

Teilweise sehr amüsant. Macht aber auch nachdenklich, wie sich manche Partnerschaften entwickeln und warum das so ist.½

Too much humour and too little history for my taste. Did not finish.

What happens if you suddenly realise that you have no idea who you are or anything about yourself? This is the situation our protagonist Vaughn on an underground train! He gets himself to hospital where all tests show there is no physical reason so what has happened to make him completely forget his life?

The answer is found when he remembers a phone number and his friend tells him he is going through a divorce.

This was a short and light read which covers an important question, who are we if we don't have a past to give us reference.

This was very funny in places although highly implausible in others. It seems strange for instance that he would remember a mobile number when we use our phones memory when calling others. The scenes in the divorce court were very good.

All in all if you are looking for something to pass a few hours this may be the one.

Songwriter Michael Adams has the perfect life. A beautiful wife ; two wonderful children and a third on the way ; and the best of both single and married life. You see, he has created a way to spend several nights and days per week away from home living in an apartment on the other end of London. He sees his wife and children just enough to enjoy them when he wants while not having to deal with the children when he doesn't.

But his "perfect" life proves illusory when the single life and family life can no longer coexist happily. What is perfect for Michael is not so perfect for the wife he loves more than anything else in the world. Michael is forced to make a choice and learns some lessons along the way.

John O'Farrell's debut novel is a British romp through the challenges of fathering and its inherent dangers to marriage. What makes this tale stand out, however, is its whole-hearted portrayal of family's importance in a man's life. Men, married or no, are most often portrayed as philandering, sex-obsessed and unfaithful to their spouses and families. But, from the start of this book, protagonist Adams is a loyal family man.

Unfortunately, O'Farrell dampens this message with sexual material that is too explicit for this otherwise light romp. Michael Adams captures my viewpoint perfectly when he muses, "I didn't disapprove of sex, but Hugo talked with such contempt about the women he had seduced that it almost left as bad a taste in my mouth as it must have done for them." The vulgarity and sparse but prurient content of this book leave me with a sour aftertaste.

That complaint aside, this is a wonderful book. It reads as though destined to become a movie. Not surprising given O'Farrell's background in screenwriting. But only purists will be bothered because this book is funny and poignant at the same time. Sudden surprise twists keep the reader on his toes and lead to an ending that ties up loose ends and finishes with a pleasant gasp.

Read this as a teenager. I remember being shocked that the main character managed to lead two lives. I hated that he cheated on his wife and his general attitude but there were some funny lines.

Having read a couple of John O'Farrell's previous books I was confident that I would enjoy his contribution to the Penguin series of short observations on the London Underground. O'Farrell was commissioned to write about the Jubilee Line (the "silver one") which runs from Stanmore, out in North West London through the West End before extending out through Docklands before terminating at Stratford in the East End.

Unlike John Lanchester, who gave considerable detail in his history of the District Line (the "green one"), O'Farrell devotes most of his book to recounting a nightmare he had about a journey along the Jubilee Line which was truncated owing to the collapse of western capitalism and floods driven by the melting polar caps. This pain of this dreadful journey is exacerbated by the unexpected appearance of the politically diametrically opposed philosophers Roger Scriuton and Noam Chomsky, who end up resolving their differences through the medium of their fists. Shortly after this O'Farrell is joined by his own particular bete noir, Margaret Thatcher herself, though bizarrely she is in an unwontedly remorseful mood.

O'Farrell is well known for his own left-of-centre views but he offers a surprisingly even-handed exegesis of the arguments for and against private enterprise running national infrastructure.

All in all this was very amusing and entertaining.

I absolutely loved this book. What a great chronicle of the Thatcher years - that is if you weren't a fan of hers. O'Farrell has a deadpan style and an ability to recognize his own flaws as well as he does Dame Thatcher's.

He so beautifully captures the time, and the seeming absurdity of her win after win - which I say not as a Thatcher hater but rather as someone who can see serendipity when it's this obvious. For a nonBrit reader such as me, reading this was analogous to how I imagine nonAmericans feel about two victories for Dubya. How ON EARTH did it happen? An excellent read right now as her death has created somewhat of a cottage industry in (re)analyzing her record.

I think what I aprpeciated most of all was is ability to point out the Left's role in getting her elected again and again. When a movement has no vision or ideology, it shouldn't surprise us when the other side wins. When that movement gets a new story, as it did for better or for worse with Tony Blair, then the results are more in keeping with what one might expect.

I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first.

Imagine my disappointment when I found this book was not in fact a self-help book...but I read it anyway.

A man finds himself on The Tube with no recollection of who he is, how he got there, or where in fact he should be...in what is a very comical, yet somewhat distressing set of circumstances he spends a week at a hospital awaiting, almost hoping, that someone will come and retrieve him. When by chance he remembers a number his best mate (who this guy doesn't know from a bar of soap) takes him home and slowly fills in some details of his former life including his name, Vaughan (which is in fact his surname).

Slowly he recalls some memories, albeit somewhat scratchy, and with help from his mate finds out he is married with two kids, however in the same breath learns he is to be in court in a few days time to file for divorce.

What follows is a very witty account of Vaughan getting back to some sense of normality when he is diagnosed with a rare mental disorder wiping his entire existence prior to the day on the train which includes him falling in love with his wife/ex again, meeting his kids for the first time, and, with some accurate depiction, losing his virginity to a fellow teacher...sort of.

I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint excepting some predictable conclusions straight form a Love Actually-esque film, but O'Farrell has a quick wit which does not detract from telling an actual story.

There are some real highlights in the book: Vaughan's students at the low-decile school he teaches at wanting to know more about his mental state; his discovery that while the saying "its like riding a bike' applies to, well, bikes, it doesn't necessarily transpose that well to cars; his sudden superstar status as a 40-year old 'virgin'...

Yep, worth a looksy for anyone after an easy read which, despite some moral questions being thrown about, does not require too much grey matter.

Not laugh out loud but still very witty. An easy and enjoyable read.

Otroligt rolig!!
Väldigt underhållande och rolig! Vissa stycken kan jag inte låta bli att skratta högt åt!
MYCKET läsvärd!

Incredibly FUNNY!! MUST READ!
I LOVE IT! I find myself laughing out loud when reading it. A MUST READ!