Synopsis/blurb.....
Danny Small loves life just the way it is...
It's a cheeky Nando's. It's a big sesh down the gym. It's double shots of Sambuca. It's a scrap at closing time. It's a few Stellas before kick off. It's larging it in Marbella. It's not being tied down. It's working hard and playing harder. It's a relentless cycle of booze, birds and banter. It's the lad's life.
...but when everyone else is growing up and moving on, life in the fast lane gets pretty lonely.
Danny's mates are settling down. Girls are demanding commitment. His boss is onto his schemes. Even his mum's on his case. Does the banter finally have to stop, or does a real lad just crank it up a notch?
"A brilliant and brutal look at UK lad culture...It's witty, shocking, thought-provoking and sad - Five Stars" - Tracy Fenton, Founder of The Book Club on Facebook
"A witty and stinging satire of lad culture" - TV Life magazine, Daily Star on Sunday
An enjoyable encounter with Andrew Webber and his hero or villain (dependent on your perspective) Danny Small.
Danny is a LAD! Birds, booze, football, fights and more birds. Good looking, gift of the gab, nice clothes, six-pack and a beast in the sack. A wide-boy at work, some dodgy side deals going on, to fund the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed, which is basically booze, birds, football, a flash motor and the odd-lad's holiday where we can get away from it all with more booze and birds.
Spending a lot of time inside Danny's head, as time progresses and the regular f-buddies disappear from his calendar and a couple of his mates grow up and settle down, we learn of his insecurities and discover a romantic bruising in the past, which may explain his attitude and outlook on life.
Danny now needs a fresh start and to settle down with Sarah. Can this leopard really change his spots?
I really enjoyed this one, and was thoroughly entertained throughout. Danny - while I wouldn't let him anywhere near my daughters - was good company and I was both thrilled and appalled at his bravado and lifestyle. Why wasn't I just a bit more like Danny when I was younger?
Funny, eye-opening and more than a little bit sad. Entertained throughout. From my long ago youthful experiences (observer more than participant), Webber nails the lad-culture.
4.5 from 5
Andrew Webber has another book to his name - Today, which I would definitely be interested in checking out after reading this one.
He's on Twitter - @mrandrewwebber
Read in December, 2017
Published - 2016
Page count - 218
Source - Kindle Unlimited
Format - Kindle
So it's not musical maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber then? tee hee.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting - more of a novel than crime by the sound of it. With a son and a daughter of the right era I'm probably busy thinking I hope one isn't like that, and the other doesn't meet one...
No, definitely not - thankfully. Yep couldn't really class this as a crime or mystery novel. Ditto that regarding our children. I wouldn't like my son to be like that either, and he isn't. Because I could remember my own awkwardness and low self-esteem/confidence at that young age, I kind of applauded our main man's chutzpah but it's all very shallow.
DeleteI tried to post earlier, Col, and Blogger said my comment was published. Hmm..... At any rate, This does sound like an interesting book. And I like that blend of wit and sadness/poignancy. I'm glad that Webber gets to the truth of the 'Lad culture' without getting too soppy, if that's the word.
ReplyDeleteMargot, I appreciate your persistence. I did see the comment in my emails, but not on this page. I really enjoyed the book and it was a bit of a departure from my usual reading. Very relate-able, for me even if our life experiences were somewhat different.
DeleteI am heading to Amazon now to get a lool at this one. Thanks, Col.
ReplyDeleteElgin, a bit different from my usual crime-type reading, but I liked it. Nice to read "out of the box" sometimes.
DeleteI have been reading outside the box this season, too, including a teen novel, an animal novel, a western, and an old book that is nearly 10 times as long and the tight little noir novels I like so much. Also, my resolution is to make a dent in the backlog of new works on my Kindle. Happy New Year!
DeleteI'd like to get back to a bit of non-fiction this year, maybe a couple of Vietnam War memoirs, more female authors, a few more Westerns. All the best to you and yours for this year also.
Delete