16th September 2024

Bob Mortimer’s sequel sees Gary make new friends and new enemies as he considers relocating to his girlfriend’s new hotel, while suffering the repercussions of the first novel.

It’s still funny and wacky and there’s some interesting bits to speculate and wonder about. But I think somewhere along the way it has lost the magic of the first novel. It feels almost a bit too purposeful and with direction, and lacking in the same sense of whimsy.

It wasn’t bad in any way in particular. I love the interactions with Gary’s squirrel friend still in particular. But just doesn’t quite tickle me in the same way.

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25th February 2023

Bob Mortimer is an extremely funny person to watch on television, so I thought that the idea of him writing a novel was definitely something that I’d like to read the output of.

The book is a tale of a lonely man who works for a legal firm, seeking companionship. Which doesn’t sound like the funniest setup, except that the man comes across very much as representing the young Bob Mortimer, with an imagination to match.

There’s an element of social awkwardness which could risk cringe, but I think the first-person presentation and that we are exposed to the internal logic of the narrator really reduces this.

The story is fine - but really feels like a vehicle for the funny moments, which start immediately with page two actually causing out loud laughter.

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