Ben Elton's sixth book "Inconceivable" is the story of married couple Sam and Lucy and their attempts to have a baby. This is a topic which could be fraught with danger but Elton has handled it with humour, and compassion.

The story isn't written like your normal everyday novel but as a series of journal entries from Sam and Lucy (Sam's are in normal type and Lucy's in italics). At first I must admit to finding this a little difficult to get into - I've never been a bit fan of prolonged monologuing and introspection - but once I'd gotten used to each of Sam and Lucy's "flow" I really started to enjoy this book.

I think the story being told in this fashion gave it more depth than if it was told in the traditional third person. You get to see firsthand the perspectives of the two main characters of the same events as well their individual emotional responses. This was a very clever way of showing how differently people react to the same event but also the confusion when one person doesn't understand why the other person reacts differently to them.

The passages also highlight to the reader how things can easily be misunderstood when each person doesn't (or can't) share their fears, dreams, or anxieties with other as well as the danger of not trying to see something from another person's point of view. Perhaps couples with communication issues should read this book too!

Do Sam and Lucy eventually have a baby...well, you'll have to read it to find out. Overall "Inconceivable" is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always compelling reading. It is a love story with all the heart, emotion, betrayal, and romance, but without any of the schmaltz.

This was a very difficult book for me to read. The entire thing is journal entries by a husband and wife as they try to have a child. The story itself was interesting and entertaining, but I felt like I was slogging through the pages as there were no changes to other ways of telling the story like there was in "Bridget Jones' Diary" (e-mails, narrative, journal entries.

Lucy and Sam keep trying to conceive, but nothing seems to work. They try abstaining and measuring her ovulation schedule -- no luck. Sex all the time -- no luck. Aromatherapy -- no luck. Then they start the IVF process. The journal entries which comprise the entirety of the book are a way for Sam to get in touch with his feelings; Lucy also keeps a journal although she feels she is more in touch with herself and her feelings than Sam is.

In addition to the conception story, the story follows the couple's individual trials and tribulations in their work lives. Sam works at the BBC in the comedy division. Unexpected "errors" result in him being transferred to BBC Radio. Eventually, bored with the radio program in which he's "in charge", Sam decides to write a screenplay entitled "Inconceivable" about a couple trying to conceive a child, based on his and Lucy's journey. This is where the story becomes comical and the most interesting.

The book was turned into the movie "Maybe Baby". Ben Elton, the author, is well known in British comedy.

OK

Didn’t think I would like this book, no interest in the subject matter but it was actually pretty decent and funny

I struggled with the middle of the book and nearly stopped reading it, however I persevered and I'm glad I did as the last third of the book was a really good read.

Yhdessä Rowan Atkinsonin kanssa Musta Kyy -televisiosarjaakin käsikirjoittaneen Ben Eltonin järjestyksessään seitsemäs romaani Vauvahorkka, 2000 (Inconceivable, 1999) kertoo tv-viihdealalla työskentelevästä pariskunnasta, joka ei saa lasta, vaikka kovasti sitä yrittääkin. Lapsettomuuden tuskasta kasvaa hiljalleen yhä suurempi tragedia pariskunnan arkeen. Erään tuttavan kehotuksesta pariskunnan kumpikin osapuoli alkaa kirjoittaa omaa päiväkirjaansa tuntemuksistaan. Koko romaani koostuukin vain näiden kahden ihmisen, Lucyn ja Samin, päiväkirjamerkinnöistä.

Täytyy myöntää, että luettuani romaanin pari ensimmäistä aukeamaa ja ymmärrettyäni tarinan rakenteen, pohdin huokaillen kuinkakohan puuduttava kokemus tästä oikein mahtaa kehkeytyäkään. Ensinnäkään lapsettomuus ei ole itselleni mitenkään suurempaa mielenkiintoa herättävä tai sielua koskettava aihe, ja toisaalta pelkkiin päiväkirjamerkintöihin nojaava kerronnallinen rakenne tuntui lähtökohtaisesti puuduttavalta. Onneksi en kuitenkaan helpolla jätä heikoltakaan tuntuvaa romaania kesken. En nimittäin olisi voinut ennakko-odotuksineni paljon enempää metsään ampua.

Ben Elton on loistava satiirikko ja humoristi, ja hän onnistuu näistä edellä mainitsemistani lähtökohdistakin huolimatta rakentamaan mainon, mukaansatempaavan romaanin. Pariskunnan kummankin osapuolen näkökulmat tapahtumista ja arviot toisen mietteistä menevät herkullisella tavalla ristiin, ja Elton osaa todella repiä aiheesta kaiken mahdollisen irti samalla sekä koskettavaa että hersyvää keitostaan varten. Myös viihdeteollisuus on totuttuun tapaan kirjailijan viiltävän satiirin kohteena. Tämä on kolmas lukemani Eltonin romaani, ja toivon että näitä suomennettaisiin pikaisesti lisää. Kirjailijan 17 romaanista on tähän mennessä ikävä kyllä suomennettu vain neljä teosta.

Arvioni 4,0 tähteä viidestä.

We were keen to read this book because of the way Ben tells the story using both main characters to narrate it. This is because Judith and I have recently completed a memoir jointly narrating our story. I think Ben has a unique way of conveying real life situations, often sad and emotional ones, in a very humourous way.

Laugh out loud funny in the early parts, but ran out of momentum in the second half.

The movie doesn’t do this book justice, in fact it was complete flop making the trivial sum of $170,000. They must have lost a fortune.

I read Sam’s passages with Hugh Laurie’s voice in my head.

I think this is one the funniest books Ben’s ever written.

4.5 Ben Elton is fast becoming my favourite writer. I've yet to find a book I don't like. He can switch genres with ease and still keep the same humour throughout so you know who you are reading. This book is Chick lit and follows the trials of a couple who are trying to conceive. I dropped half a mark because I didn't like how it was written in the style of 2 journals and it did make many characters come across as very 2 dimensional. The story itself was fantastic and gave great insight into how heartbreaking trying for a baby can be. It mixes this well with humour and i i found it hard to put down. All in all another great book by Ben Elton and I would definitely recommend it.

The heart winching story of family hopes to have a child. Get the Kleenex out!! You will surely need it when reading this book. deep pain and anguish. The story is very raw and open. Showing the depts of pain a couple and family can go threw.. And somehow, they get threw this. And come out the other side of it,

You can also read this review on my blog at: http://oddfeather.co/2017/05/28/revie...

*This review contains spoilers!*

I have mixed feelings about this novel. To put it simply: the first half of it is pants-wettngly hilarious - who knew jokes about a person's junk could be so varied and funny without getting old. But about half way through something bad happens and the rest of the novel never recovers the lightness and humour of the first half.

The novel is written in alternating diary entries by the two halves of a married couple: Lucy and Sam. The diary-keeping is suggested by a professional as they undertake IVF treatments in order for Lucy to get pregnant, and follows their various misadventures as they try everything from having sex on ley-lines to not having sex at all. At times it is quite gender-stereotyped: Sam is grumpy and bored with his career and quite neglectful of Lucy and the roller-coaster her body and mind are going through, and Lucy is caring, nurturing, often fragile and obsessed with having children. However, they are believable characters and their story is approached with a humour that somehow doesn't diminish their efforts to create a child.
About half way through the novel Lucy discovers that Sam has been turning their IVF journey into a screenplay that is being made into a movie, thus advancing his boring career at the BBC. They break up, and the entire second half of the book is incredibly sad as Lucy hooks up with someone she works with, Sam realises that he was neglectful of Lucy and wasn't taking the IVF seriously, and although they get back together and it ends with them happily about to have sex and try it all again, it really doesn't feel like the story fully comes back from them breaking up.
This book is well worth an attempt, even if you only read the first half and give up when they break up - that's probably the best way to read it.