Publisher

HarperCollins

Printer

Griffin Press

Year Written/Published

2002

Country

Australia

ISBN

0 00 714 878 X

Binding

Paperback

Pages

306

Genre

Humour

Blurb

What does a successful adman do when he realises the stars of his new commercial want to kill each other, his director has walked off the set and his client has turned up in the wrong t-shirt?

How does one of those stars react when he's asked if its true that he's packing salami in his shorts?

Why on earth does the other one think that dueting with a Chinese Elvis impersonator on the Old Kent Rd could possibly be a smart career move?

How does the successful adman's pregnant, swollen-ankled wife do when she realises the cheating bastard just happens to be shooting an ad with a rubber-clad Hollywood nympth?

And could any of the above possibly have a connection to the world's most useless drug smuggler?

My Opinion

Any book that has the words 'cheating bastard' on the blurb has promise, but I have to admit, it was a expression of the monkey on the cover that made me choose to read it.

The first thing you notice about the book is that it's not written like most other books. Each character tells bits of the story from their old point of view, so you can almost read it like an E! True Hollywood Story show, complete with an introduction caption. The format is different but it works, and I don't think the story would be as funny if it was told in a more traditional way.

The large cast of narrators is fairly easy to keep track of, and the story unfolds at a good pace. None of the characters are perfect, but one or two really irritated me (mostly Tish), but as the story is told by so many people it doesn't matter as much.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was unpredictable and brilliant, and the ending was realistic rather than sappy. A definite winner.

Date Finished

11/12/2006

Rating

10/10