If That Was Lunch, We've Had It, by D.J. Colbert, AUG2023 LTER
ConversazioniReviews of Early Reviewers Books
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1LyndaInOregon
Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided for review by the author, via Library Thing.
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This clever and sprightly tale announces right out of the box that it’s going to take a cockeyed look at the world, by opening with Chapter 42. (Douglas Adams fans will understand immediately; others may take a while to catch up.)
On the surface, it’s the tale of a couple of New Zealand slackers in the bad old pre-internet days, trying to figure out how to “make a squillion dollars” without working at it, and coming up with the brilliant idea that the shortest path to riches is to write a best-selling book. Unfortunately, neither of them knows much about writing, cares less about books in general, or is inclined to actually sit down and put words on paper – except for a first page full of fabricated personal histories and a jaw-cracking title – The Protestant Work Ethic: How to Live With It and How to Live Without It.
Colbert’s book, however, gallops along nicely without assistance from the incompleted masterpiece, zig-zagging gaily from past to present and back again with numerous side trips through the adventures of Will, Rodney, and their buddy Bryan as they manage to keep body and soul together by working (variously) as hospital orderly, sheep station roustabout, youth camp advisor, and merchant mariner. From time to time, Will and Rodney check in with one another to see how the book is going, but since neither of them ever actually does any writing, progress is slow. Meanwhile, they continue to “do irrelevance with a passion.”
Underneath, it’s also the story of finding one’s place in a world that is reeling from its own excesses, and about how voices crying out the early warnings of ecological disaster were marginalized, ridiculed, and ignored.
The writing is crisp, the characters are people you’d like to hang out with, and Colbert has a nice turn of phrase for the ridiculous. He wraps it up in a final chapter that’s unexpectedly thoughtful, but which brings the joyride to an emotionally satisfying conclusion.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This clever and sprightly tale announces right out of the box that it’s going to take a cockeyed look at the world, by opening with Chapter 42. (Douglas Adams fans will understand immediately; others may take a while to catch up.)
On the surface, it’s the tale of a couple of New Zealand slackers in the bad old pre-internet days, trying to figure out how to “make a squillion dollars” without working at it, and coming up with the brilliant idea that the shortest path to riches is to write a best-selling book. Unfortunately, neither of them knows much about writing, cares less about books in general, or is inclined to actually sit down and put words on paper – except for a first page full of fabricated personal histories and a jaw-cracking title – The Protestant Work Ethic: How to Live With It and How to Live Without It.
Colbert’s book, however, gallops along nicely without assistance from the incompleted masterpiece, zig-zagging gaily from past to present and back again with numerous side trips through the adventures of Will, Rodney, and their buddy Bryan as they manage to keep body and soul together by working (variously) as hospital orderly, sheep station roustabout, youth camp advisor, and merchant mariner. From time to time, Will and Rodney check in with one another to see how the book is going, but since neither of them ever actually does any writing, progress is slow. Meanwhile, they continue to “do irrelevance with a passion.”
Underneath, it’s also the story of finding one’s place in a world that is reeling from its own excesses, and about how voices crying out the early warnings of ecological disaster were marginalized, ridiculed, and ignored.
The writing is crisp, the characters are people you’d like to hang out with, and Colbert has a nice turn of phrase for the ridiculous. He wraps it up in a final chapter that’s unexpectedly thoughtful, but which brings the joyride to an emotionally satisfying conclusion.
