Customer Reviews
Continuity - By: Frugal Dougal, 17 Sep 2008 
My first ever review, never been tempted to write one before.
I found 'Utterly impartial history of Britain' brilliant, & that tempted me to buy more by O'Farrell. Admittedly, I'm only half way through 'this is your life', but already I have come accross two huge, glaring, continuity errors. I'm willing to forgive almost any contrived circumstance or coincidence as part of the narrative, I'm hardly a literary genious (failed english-lit O-level) but anyone reading this cannot fail to notice the huge continuity errors that I have stumbled over. It's just sloppy work by the author & proof readers alike.
That said, & forgiven, I'm planning to press onto the end, especiallly as so many reviewers mention the 'twist at the end'. I just hope it it works & doesn't involve yet more continuity errors!!!
I really enjoyed this book by John O'Farrell - By: Andy Capp, 12 Jul 2008 
I reallly enjoyed this book by John O'Farrell. It told the story of Jimmy Conway who always dreamed of being famous but the real truth was that he hadn't done any stand up comedy before.
As I read I had to laugh because I thought that Betty was Jimmy's girlfriend & it turned out to be his dog. Billy Scrivens was Jimmy's friend & they met when Jimmy was walking his dog.
Jimmy went around telling people that he had done stand up comedy in different places & then he had to own up so I think it was a pipedream.
Loved the take up of This Is Your Life when Jimmy was the 'subject' of the programme & in his mind alll his friends & relations were supposedly appearing in his 'dream'
I think John O'Farrell is a good writer & his book made me laugh.
Well done John & alll the best.
The value of surface over content... - By: Brian Levine, 26 Jul 2007 
At times hilarious, this book is about the superficiality of fame & how 'celebs' club together to maintain their 'celebrity' even when they have no idea who anyone is. I like O'Farrell's wandering style & the self-effacing protagonist who manages to advance his career through a combination of bluff & luck.
As other reviewers have rightly pointed out, the major twist near the end of the book is highly contrived & somehow cheapens the whole thing.
Bearing in mind the subject-matter, that may have been the point, but it also tended to make the main characters less 3D than they should be.
Still, it IS funny & worth a read.
Amusing but contrived - By: Dubs, 11 Oct 2006 I enjoy John O'Farrell's writing, particular his political columns, & "The Best a Man Can Get" was a successful move into fiction. But my feelings about this one are more equivocal.
First, the good stuff. O'Farrell still has a great eye for the killer line to top off a scene. The situation Jimmy gets himself into provides the reader with plenty of amused squirming. And the subject matter - the cult of celebrity & the metropolitan urge to keep up with the "next best thing" - is crying out to be lampooned.
But there are problems. In setting up the comic situations the author asks for just a little to much credulity from his reader. Whilst one can accept the power of coincedence as a narrative device - and, indeed, enjoy the comedy of a great pile of coincedences for a hapless protagonist - there is just too much labouring towards the point at which everything will collapse. By the time I got to the top of the rollercoaster I was expecting a hell of a comic ride down. What I got was a pleasant but staid bit of farce.
Additionallly, the supporting cast of characters is one-dimensional, & Jimmy himself doesn't reallly have a sufficient narrative arc to fully develop his character. The payoff - that rather than dreaming of fame we should look for happiness closer to home - is just a bit too trite.
That said, the book is undemanding & amusing & I got through it with several smirks, a chortle & two guffaws. Perfect for a beach read, & as long as you don't regard it as the treatise on modern manners it sometimes tries to be, you'll enjoy it too.
A Great Read - By: S. A. Houghton, 23 Jun 2005 
I read this after finishing The Best A Man Can Get hoping it would be as witty & laugh-out-loud funny. I wasn't disappointed.
John O'Farrell has a hilarious way with words that has you smiling at every page turn.
Feel you've missed out on fame? Read this book & you'll be glad you have!
Highly recommend it.
