Great writing

Classic Ben Elton. Funny & poignant.
Written as diary entries by married couple Sam & Lucy who have been trying for a baby for 5 years with no joy.
They decide to start IVF & when Sam gets moved from BBC TV to BBC Radio he decides he will try his hand once more at his true passion - writing.
Inspiration strikes when he decides to write about his & Lucy’s trials & tribulations in their infertility however when he tells Lucy his plan she is far from impressed…

2 stars, it was ok. Felt this just went on, as did the female main in this book. Lacked the depth that I was hoping for regarding a sensitive subject. Did raise a chuckle every few pages, but not enough to hold the whole novel together.

Quite enjoyable in a depressing, heartfelt sad kind of why, it's a comedy about a tragedy being made into a comedy

This is one of my favourite books and i have gone back to it time and again, because the characters, especially Sam are so endearing. This book is written in diary form from both Sam and Lucy and it gives their thoughts on the IVF they are going through.

Some parts are moving and I sympahised with their situation, especially when Lucy dreams of reading Beatrix Potter to her potential child,it struck a chord with me because I read those stories to my own children. But what I love about Ben Elton is that he has taken a difficult subject and given us an honest insight into how the opposite sex deals with the issue of IVF.

I would recomend this to anyone and although i have read most of Ben Elton's books and have found them all enjoyable, this remains my favourite.

Ik dacht : in tijden van crisis is het goed een grappig boek te lezen.
Maar is een boek met als onderwerp een "onvruchtbaar" koppel grappig ?! Wel als Ben Elton het geschreven heeft.
U kent hem misschien van andere boeken (Stark, Popcorn, ...), maar waarschijnlijker als schrijver van absurde series als The young ones, Blackadder en The tin blue line.
Het duurt even voor Elton in doldrieste modus komt, maar na ongeveer een derde van het boek is hij goed op gang en rollen de personages van het ene (komische) drama in het andere.
Toch valt het verhaal bij momenten ook weer stil en zijn niet alle "grappen" van een even hoog niveau.

Different Than The Average: Ben Elton, as many of us fans out there know, tends to write murder thrillers with that touch of comedy that everything he has ever done, and ever will do, has. This however does not follow his traditional murder mystery whodunnit. This book is even written in a totally different narration style. Generally he writes in the third person to explain the story throughout. Thi time there is NO third person involved. He writes in a style that many writers have tried and only half have pulled off successfully. He uses two characters as the focus, Sam and Lucy a couple trying to have a baby but cannot conceive. The way their stories are told respectively are as a form of diary entry.

It is set up so that they are writing provate letters to no-one to let out their sad emotions and frustrations at the inability to conceive. The focus of the story is love. Whether love between the two is strong enough to survive if they cannot conceive or reliant on a child. Each character also has their own private battles. Sam is a BBC worker dreaming of writing a hit programme or film, but he has no inspiration. Lucy is an agent's assistant, who's newest client happens to be the hottest new, gorgeous British actor on the scene. As the two face their separate battles, can they focus on Lucy's main goal, a child. Sam isn't as determined seemingly to have a child as he feels that it would just be a bonus, he feels he loves Lucy enough to be happy with her forever, child or not.

The story has great one liners that will make even the person with the least sense of humour in the world to crack a smile. It is funny throughout ut also has the touch of seriousness also. Tears could flow at points. I enjoyed this, finished it just this afternoon. If you like his other books you'll love this too. If you hve never read anything of his before this could be a good start as it shows how he can hold a story well and keep things moving. It also dislays the difficult technique of balancing two characters roles equally, which he succeeds seeminlgly with ease.

Enjoy.

I was very presently surprised with this. It’s a standard British romcom I would say with some typical late night BBC or maybe Channel4 humour.

Not an Earth-shattering, award-winning book but a fun read nonetheless and very easy reading.
Incredible to think how much could be written about the topic - which is that a couple are having trouble having a baby.

Ben Elton is good, especially with what he wrote for tv series but I feel the recipe is all the same and very easy humour 90s Britain which made easy-to-watch sitcoms.
It works for Elton and there were some great, fantastic, really funny and also heart-warming moments.
I nice easy read which can give you food for thought but also be nice fly on the wall classic British humour.

Slow to start with (I almost put it down) but I'm glad I stuck with it. You can't beat a Ben Elton read.

This is a book to read not before you're 30, married (or near-as) and have seriously considered children. Even better if you have one.

It starts out like a hilarious classic british comedy. I found myself laughing out loud in bed, reciting passages to my wife who laughed as well. It looks very closely on the intimacy of a married bedroom, with Ben Elton's flair for funny banter.

I loved the charecters. I was really rooting for them and the suspense of whether they'll make it or not was almost unbearable!

There are twists, there are turns, there is romance and there is that special feeling of London in the 90s-00s.

So if you like British comedy - brew up some Earl Gray with milk, get in bed next to your loved one, and start.
You may stay up much later than expected :)
5 Stars

The only Ben Elton book I've read < 4 stars. Just not for me.

The first 75% of Ben Elton's Inconceivable is one of the three funniest books I have ever read. (The other two are Naked and The Urban Hermit: A Memoir) These three, or 2.75, books all made me laugh, not just out loud, but so hard that I woke my partner up several times trying not to laugh and thereby shaking the bed like mad.

Unfortunately, the ending of Elton's book is not only not funny, but actually annoying in several ways that I won't go into because, Spoilers.