Customer Reviews
A new side to Moore - By: derekmas, 21 Sep 2007 
As a long-standing fan of Tim Moore with a alll-time loathing for the European Song Contest (ESC), I approached this book with trepidation. I needn't have done.
After a slow but necessary start (for those of us ESC neophytes) describing its history, Moore gets into his stride when he starts to visit & interview those luckless, & sometimes hapless performers who have have had the misfortune to score 'nul points' since 1978.
The range & depth of both the research & interviews are extraordinary, given the subject matter & the sympathetic ear he brings to alll seems to be rewarded, with the single exception of a Nordic narcissist.
The final chapter about his first visit to the contest itself is a return to the knock-about humour of some of his earlier books.
Compassionate & insightful. A joy.
Thumbs down from a Eurovision fan! - By: Philip Crammond, 05 Aug 2007 
Well I have not read any books by this author before, but am a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest.
I was reallly excited by the set up of this book.What is it like to get zero points at the Eurovision Song Contest? One minute you win your national finals, then you come last.
This book has a fatal flaw, you want to hear the songs. You want to hear the song you are reading about in the book.
I wanted to know what happend AFTERWARDS to these singers. I felt there was far too much of the author telling you how hard he worked to track down the singers. He seemed to shoe-horn in "witty" jokes which just fell flat in my opinion.
Perhaps this would work better as a TV programme?
Expected more from moore - By: N. Griffiths, 27 Jun 2007 
Having recently finished reading the excellent Spanish Steps by Tim Moore (possibly the funniest travel book I've ever read), I reallly wanted to like this too. Unfortunately it fell flat & I ended up struggling through to the end.
This is a crying shame because the premise is perfect; Moore meets with & interviews the acts from a song contest roundly sneered upon (at least from within these shores) who'd failed to collect a single point for their efforts. This comedic potential collapses however through a repetitive routine of tracking down said artist, interviewing them (and opening old wounds in the process), hearing what they have done since (in most cases, not much) before moving onto the next one. It lacks the wit & sparkle of his earlier efforts & ends up being, sadly, a tad boring.
Bring back the donkey Tim!
Not Nul Points but 5 Stars - By: L. F. Carson, 08 Jun 2007 Tim Moore has done it again.
After taking the Tour de France & the board game Monopoly he has now taken the Eurovision Song Contest & written a superbly funny book
One word of warning - don't read it in a room full of other people as you will laugh out loud!
Moore. And Again! - By: Alastair Williams, 16 Apr 2007 
Moore has a way with words. I suppose that's what you hope for from a writer, but what I mean is he's careful with the words he chooses & then, BANG, there's the punch line, so much later. You & I both get sucked in to a good narrative & suddenly we are blasted with a one-liner, so subtle, so funny, you almost feel smug because you know the only way this joke is funny is because you understand the link as you read page thirteen...that might have been three weeks ago!
`Nul Points' is a bizarre topic to choose until you realise that whether actively or with satirical irony we alll, actuallly, watch the Eurovision Song Contest religiously, whether we admit to it, or not.
Well done Tim, isn't it time for an expose of world chess champions? I bet they have far dirtier secrets!
