The Satsuma Complex
ISBN: 9781398521209
Description
Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.
Reviewed on 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.