A septuagenarian contract killer, a chronic hypochondriac, two zombie-creating comedians, a good Samaritan and a man called Barnaby whose holiday takes an unexpected turn. In these sleek and witty tales, described by Loaded as 'an excellent collection of dark, funny and bizarre short stories', Alexei Sayle's characters are vividly, wryly - and occasionally disturbingly - portrayed. Their voices, and the stories they have to tell will remain in the mind for a long, long time.
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Amazon Review
Comedians rarely make great fiction writers, the temptation to throw in cheap one-liners distracting them from any substantial narrative--which is why Alexei Sayle's first attempt at proper literature is a nice surprise. Although riddled with dark humour, his short story collection Barcelona Plates is actually best when he's being serious. Sayle has a knack for story-telling and a twisted imagination which creates perverse characters. They're mostly melancholic beings whose lives are in a rut when the smallest twist of fate changes everything--from the call centre employee who spills cream on her suit to the business woman who loses her keys. Especially good is "The Minister For Death", in which a retired pipe fitter from Liverpool discovers, after an incident returning from the chip shop with a steak pie, that old people are invisible in modern society and gains retribution as the "stealth codger".
After 17 years in London, Sayle's representation of his adopted city is powerful--from a nature reserve in Kings Cross to likely lads down Bermondsey, from wealthy Islington squares to Clerkenwell on a Saturday night. He eruditely describes the early evening Soho populace as, "Clerks in raincoats clutching beer bottles by the neck, standing outside bars looking up and down the street as if good times were about to arrive in a taxi."
Barcelona Plates is side-tracked from time to time by rants, such as Disneyland's rancid evil or the "stupidity" of recent comedy, mirroring Sayle's sardonic demeanour and acerbic monologues on TV. However overall, it's an entertaining collection of absurd yarns. --Sarah Champion --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Barcelona Plates will put a smile on your face and a chill down your spine" -- Time Out
'A cracking read .. dense with smart ideas, sour observations and loony rants' -- Independent on Sunday
'A cracking read .. dense with smart ideas, sour observations and loony rants' -- Independent on Sunday
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Sayle has both mellowed and hardened over the years; he's very much more sympathetic to some of his characters than he was in 'Train to Hell', but the world view here is still desperately dark and cynical. The protagonists (who are basically glove puppets for his usual, very funny style of observational surrealism) never achieve any kind of happy ending, and rarely end up better off than they were at the beginning. It's never their fault; they just tend to be in the wrong (or right) place at the wrong time.
Sayle manages to get off some vicious shots at the media world he simultaneously inhabits and despises (what did Vic and Bob - sorry, Nic and Tob - ever do to him?), but the real anger in these cleverly-constructed stories is directed at hypocrisy and stupidity on a wider scale, from rich Londoners living in a self-created bubble, to the Catholic Church, and most successfully in 'The Minister for Death', to society's attitude towards pensioners. Most of the time this works well; occasionally a slightly lighter touch might have worked better.
This isn't really a comedy book - despite the fact it contains some of the funniest stuff I've read in years (the end of 'My Life's Work' may have caused me physical harm from laughing so much). What humour it contains is as black as it gets, but all the more refreshing for being so.
It's unlike anything else you will read for years, which is recommendation enough in itself. If you like Sayle's stuff, buy it. If you're not sure, buy it anyway, as it slips down deceptively easily, but be aware that you'll need a dark sense of humour to get the joke in some cases.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Mr JE Smith
Format:Audio Cassette
Barcelona Plates is probably the best talking book I have bought. Sayle's Tales of everyday folk in bizzare situations, and bizzare folk in everday situations is absolutely brimming with quirky humour, which is made all the more entertaining by Sayle's fast-paced and passionate delivery. From Barnaby's brush with a doomed royal couple, to the old-age hit man, these stories show the dark under-belly of the human soul, stripped down to it's rawest emotions. The M6 will never seem the same again!!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Alexei Sayle has been a hero of mine for years, from his stand-up, album, singles, series and now this! Everything he has done before seems to be as substantial as his cameo performances in Hollywodd movies. This is not to detract from his past work, but rather to mark the very real birth of a comic artist. He displays all the range of a contemporary writer, all the precision of attention of a stand-up artiste, and all the satirical malice of the truly English - but more than this, he does it so well it makes you want to write along with him, to get in on the game! I know that there have been critics of his apparent selling-out to the advertising world, but who can say that they would not do so to earn a living. It is one thing to have values, it is quite another to cripple one's self with them forever. And if it is the remuneration from television advertising that has been his mainstay while creating this masterpiece, then I hope to hear more of him on the page and in the advert breaks in future!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent collection of short stories
One I have recommended to friends on many occasions. Even to my book club although they have not seen fit to include it in their reading list yet. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Henry Blythe
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sure to make you laugh
This is a collection of short stories, all of which have either a sinister or an amusing twist in the tail. For some, the twist is both sinister and amusing. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2010 by Lance Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and edgy
This is a vivid and deeply funny collection of often nihilistic stories from a man with a razor-sharp wit and an intelligent mind. Read more
Published on 20 May 2007 by J. Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars
I cant give 5 stars to anything...
..apart from David Sedaris I s'pose. Alexie Sayle has been around for awhile & lets be honest here, his live & TV output has been rotten & bloated for a decade. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2004 by "meddling_kids"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply excellent short story telling
The good short story is the hardest form of writing to master. Sayle produces enjoyable reading throughout this collection. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black Humour at its best this is an excellent book - read it
This is an excellent book that fills out truly original ideas into short stories so that you can fully enjoy the build up to the punchline/twist. Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars
Full Plates Engaging food for thought
Alexei Sayle is one of the few Marxist comics out there working, and as such he has a slightly different take on the world. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2000
2.0 out of 5 stars
Emperor�s Old Clothes
Having watched Sayle ooze confidence on promotional televison appearances for Barcelona Plates I was sincerely hoping that the man who told Michael Parkinson about of the... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars
Original, dramatic but a bit of a curate's egg.
This is an arresting collection of stories, from a writer who has depth and bleakness and poetry in his veins. Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
If you do nothing else today - buy this book, buy it now. Beautifully written, imaginitive, witty and wonderfully barbed.
Published on 16 May 2000
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