Because Alice has decided to take the test in her place... With his trademark comic eye for detail, John O'Farrell has produced a funny and provocative book that will make you laugh, cry and vow never to become that sort of parent.
Lots of husbands forget things: they forget that their wife had an important meeting that morning; some of them even forget their wedding anniversary. But Vaughan has forgotten he even has a wife. The Man Who Forgot His Wife is the funny, moving and poignant story of a man who has done just that.
Here at last is the third collection of John O'Farrell's immensely popular Guardian columns - the final part of the trilogy in which he discovers that Margaret Thatcher is actually his mother.
Many of us were put off history by the dry and dreary way it was taught at school. Back then 'The Origins of the Industrial Revolution' somehow seemed less compelling than the chance to test the bold claim on Timothy Johnson's 'Shatterproof' ruler.But here at last is a chance to have a good laugh and learn all that stuff you feel you really ought to know by now...In this 'Horrible History for Grown Ups' you can read how Anglo-Saxon liberals struggled to be positive about immigration; 'Look I think we have to try and respect the religious customs of our new Viking friends - oi, he's nicked my bloody ox!'Discover how England's peculiar class system was established by some snobby French nobles whose posh descendents still have wine cellars and second homes in the Dordogne today. And explore the complex socio-economic reasons why Britain's kings were the first in Europe to be brought to heel; (because the Stuarts were such a useless bunch of untalented, incompetent, arrogant, upper-class thickoes that Parliament didn't have much choice.)A book about then that is also incisive and illuminating about now, '2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge', is an hilarious, informative and cantankerous journey through Britain' fascinating and bizarre history.As entertaining as a witch burning, and a lot more laughs.
For Michael is living a double life - he escapes from the exhausting misery of babies by telling his wife he has to work through the night or travel up north. And while she is valiantly coping on her own, he is just a few miles away in a secret flat, doing all the things that most men with small children can only dream about.
Jimmy has never done any performing of any sort ever before... Just as 'bogus doctors' are occasionally discovered working in hospitals, Jimmy Conway has become a 'bogus celebrity';
Gathered here are the best of John O'Farrell's newspaper columns for "The Guardian" and "The Independent". Among many things, he claims that with the election of George W. Bush, the global village has finally got its own global village idiot.
A hugely entertaining novel about the art of stand up comedy, This is Your Life was a runaway bestseller in England. O'Farrell's hero, Jimmy Conway, starts out the novel at the London Palladium. He is about to perform his stand up comedy routine in front of two thousand invited guests and millions more watching the event live on TV. He steps out blinking into the spotlights and waits for the applause to die down. He tries to appear confident but he can't help wondering whether he should have shared his little secret with someone by now. Jimmy has never performed any stand up before - ever. Conway, a nondescript thirtysomething with a long-faded dream of telling jokes in public, starts the proceedings at the lowest point in his life - teaching school, spending his evenings with a old and grizzled collection of barroom bores (including his ex-girlfriend Nancy) and generally feeling miserable over never having gotten his one lucky break. Things take a turn for the better when a local comedy legend, Billy Scrivens, with whom Conway has exchanged a fragment or two of small-talk while out running, drops down dead. Interviewed on television, where he is plausibly represented as the deceased's jogging companion, Jimmy suddenly discovers a tiny chink in the door of the closely guarded gateway to fame and celebrity. After snatching a ticket to Billy's funeral (paid for by the UK equivalent of People Magazine, and awash with the rich and famous) he convinces a gullible journalist that he is the latest underground comedy sensation, a performer so principled that he shuns TV and restricts himself to unscheduled appearances at out-of-the-way clubs. A stack of forged reviews from a phantom American tour does the rest. Courtesy of a rave profile in a national newspaper, his career takes off. The subsequent rollercoaster ride whisks him all the way from a best new stand-up comedy award (where his acceptance speech loss of nerve - "Look, there's been a terrible mistake" - is taken as a riotous gag) to a dullard contribution to a nationally syndicated television show, and even a lucrative ad campaign. Success, inevitably, has its downside: the girls are too eager even for sex-starved Jimmy, and the pub regulars are over-awed by his sudden success. Which all leads to Jimmy's big night at the Palladium, an ingenious finish where the carpet is pulled from beneath Jimmy's feet, which is credit to O'Farrell's resourcefulness, and his relish of the comic twist and detour.
Michael Adams is a composer of advertising jingles who shares a bachelor pad with three other guys. He spends his days lying in bed (a minifridge positioned perfectly within reach) and playing trivia games with his underachieving roommates. And when he feels like it, Michael crosses the city and returns home to his unsuspecting wife and two small children. Michael is living a double life, stretching out his wilting salad days with imaginary business trips and fake deadlines while his wife enjoys the exhausting misery of the little ones. It's the best thing for his marriage, Michael figures. She can care for the new loves of her life as it seems only she knows how, and he can sleep until the afternoon. Can this double life continue indefinitely? In The Best a Man Can Get, best-selling comic novelist John O'Farrell takes readers on a dark romp through the soul of the contemporary male, torn between eternal adolescence and the very real demands of fatherhood. It's wry, witty, and surprisingly charming.
'The funniest book about politics I have ever read' Alastair Campbell'Blending sharp satire with wit... a comedic reflection on the divided world' The Scotsman'The perfect read for anyone hooked on politics and enjoys good plot laced with humour' Sunday Express‘Hilarious…O’Farrell knows his stuff and, in an election year, his wry take on British politics at its most febrile is terrific value’ Mail on Sunday_________________All across Britain, a generation of grown-up children are graduating from university, moving back in to their old bedrooms and showing their gratitude by berating their parents for their out-of-date politics.All across Britain, a generation of grown-up children are graduating from university, moving back in to their old bedrooms and showing their gratitude by berating their parents for their out-of-date politics. But for proud and high-profile left-wingers Emma and Eddie Hughes, the return of their only child is a far greater challenge than they ever could have anticipated. Young Dylan had warned them there was something personal he needed to tell them, but nothing could have prepared his right-on parents for the shocking revelation he delivers. Their son is a Conservative.From John O’Farrell, author of the bestselling political satire, Things Can Only Get Better, comes Family Politics, an insightful, sharply funny and and warm-hearted antidote to our divided times._________________Praise for John O'Farrell'John O’Farrell couldn’t be unfunny if he tried’ Alan Johnson‘A joy to read but it is also highly relevant to the contemporary culture' John Boyne'More laugh-out-loud gags than the Tory Party has had recent leadership campaigns' Big Issue‘A touch of self-deprecation and a sense of humour… John O’Farrell has these qualities in spades’ Guardian‘If everyone read this book the country would be a far better place. I laughed, I cried, I loved it’ Jim Down
Le livre qu'il vous faut pour apprendre la vocabulaire anglais le plus avanc , et plus rapidement qu'en apprenant le dictionnaire par coeur. Les mots sont tous accompagn s de phrases de compr hension audio pour les remettre dans le contexte. Comment impressionner vos interlocuteurs par votre ma trise du vocabulaire anglais le plus riche.
Re-live the glory and the heartache of England's greatest ever game - and THAT World Cup Final back in 2022. Well now it's 2022 and the discussion is finally over, England have eleven players as good as any of them. it's Love vs Duty, it's Truth vs Happiness.
'�as the Labour candidate I prepared for every possible question on the local radio Election Phone-In. and he campaigned for a new non-selective inner-city state school, then realised this meant he had to send his kids to a non-selective inner-city state school.
It is the heartbreaking and hilarious confessions of someone who has been actively involved in helping the Labour party lose elections at every level: school candidate: door-to-door canvasser: working for a Labour MP in the House of Commons;
'The funniest book about politics I have ever read' Alastair Campbell'Blending sharp satire with wit... a comedic reflection on the divided world' The Scotsman'The perfect read for anyone hooked on politics and enjoys good plot laced with humour' Sunday Express‘Hilarious…O’Farrell knows his stuff and, in an election year, his wry take on British politics at its most febrile is terrific value’ Mail on Sunday_________________All across Britain, a generation of grown-up children are graduating from university, moving back in to their old bedrooms and showing their gratitude by berating their parents for their out-of-date politics.All across Britain, a generation of grown-up children are graduating from university, moving back in to their old bedrooms and showing their gratitude by berating their parents for their out-of-date politics. But for proud and high-profile left-wingers Emma and Eddie Hughes, the return of their only child is a far greater challenge than they ever could have anticipated. Young Dylan had warned them there was something personal he needed to tell them, but nothing could have prepared his right-on parents for the shocking revelation he delivers. Their son is a Conservative.From John O’Farrell, author of the bestselling political satire, Things Can Only Get Better, comes Family Politics, an insightful, sharply funny and warm-hearted antidote to our divided times._________________Praise for John O'Farrell'John O’Farrell couldn’t be unfunny if he tried’ Alan Johnson‘A joy to read but it is also highly relevant to the contemporary culture' John Boyne'More laugh-out-loud gags than the Tory Party has had recent leadership campaigns' Big Issue‘A touch of self-deprecation and a sense of humour… John O’Farrell has these qualities in spades’ Guardian‘If everyone read this book the country would be a far better place. I laughed, I cried, I loved it’ Jim Down