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More About the Author
Product Description
Stephen Fry
'Woody Allen and William Boyd have had a bastard love-child and his name is Mark Watson'
Review
"Fresh and imaginative, with wonderful flashes of humour."
--"Independent"
--"Independent"
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book because I had seen Mark Watson do stand-up comedy and was expecting more of the same sort of thing. Although the novel is very funny in parts, it's not at all the sort of thing you would expect a comedian to write. It's a dark, pretty tragic tale, and Watson does a very good job of capturing the thoughts of a middle-aged, disillusioned man. A really good tragicomedy.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
How refreshing! A genuinely multi-talented author! Comic commitments or not, I certainly hope to read more from Watson.
Bullet Points is very well written, surprising in the solemnity of the tone, and the humour is sparse. Don't believe the outside blurb; in no way could you call this a comedy novel, even one darkly humoured. This does not detract from the story, however. Our narrator remains a sincere, engaging character; his honesty (although we learn later he may not be as honest with himself as he thought) is a very likeable trait, and even when he behaves badly we cannot lose sympathy for him.
For a debut, this is alarmingly confident, restrained, well plotted. It reminds me of Tobias Wolff's work... no small praise indeed! If there is only one gripe I have, it's that the epilogue, although gripping (like a horrible car accident), is something I didn't see coming. At all. The final revelations should, perhaps, have been backed up by small clues in the re-reading of the novel, but there aren't any. Not to worry. It's still a powerful ending, and this novel is powerful stuff. Sombre, often horrifying, with a heavy tone, I highly recommend Bullet Points, but not as light reading as one might expect from an energetic young comic such as Watson.
Bullet Points is very well written, surprising in the solemnity of the tone, and the humour is sparse. Don't believe the outside blurb; in no way could you call this a comedy novel, even one darkly humoured. This does not detract from the story, however. Our narrator remains a sincere, engaging character; his honesty (although we learn later he may not be as honest with himself as he thought) is a very likeable trait, and even when he behaves badly we cannot lose sympathy for him.
For a debut, this is alarmingly confident, restrained, well plotted. It reminds me of Tobias Wolff's work... no small praise indeed! If there is only one gripe I have, it's that the epilogue, although gripping (like a horrible car accident), is something I didn't see coming. At all. The final revelations should, perhaps, have been backed up by small clues in the re-reading of the novel, but there aren't any. Not to worry. It's still a powerful ending, and this novel is powerful stuff. Sombre, often horrifying, with a heavy tone, I highly recommend Bullet Points, but not as light reading as one might expect from an energetic young comic such as Watson.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book off the back of all the good reviews it has got, and as rarely happens in this case, it did not disappoint!
The reader can instantly relate to Peter (the narrator) and the relationship built between him and the reader as the novel progresses is a fascinating one. Essentially, he talks the reader through his childhood (briefly) and his subsequent life, pinpointing certain cases in his career. The ending is a shocker, but it is not wholly unexpected as any other ending would have been totally wrong for the characterisation of Peter. By ending the novel with a note from Richard, Watson leaves the reader questioning who was correct - the narrator who we have trusted throughout the book, or his friend who outshone him at every opportunity.
If I had read this without knowing the author, I would never have guessed it was a (then) 23 year old comedian! It is a hundred times more accomplished than most could ever hope for, let alone in a first book!
The reader can instantly relate to Peter (the narrator) and the relationship built between him and the reader as the novel progresses is a fascinating one. Essentially, he talks the reader through his childhood (briefly) and his subsequent life, pinpointing certain cases in his career. The ending is a shocker, but it is not wholly unexpected as any other ending would have been totally wrong for the characterisation of Peter. By ending the novel with a note from Richard, Watson leaves the reader questioning who was correct - the narrator who we have trusted throughout the book, or his friend who outshone him at every opportunity.
If I had read this without knowing the author, I would never have guessed it was a (then) 23 year old comedian! It is a hundred times more accomplished than most could ever hope for, let alone in a first book!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A very entertaining writer.
Mark Watson is a great writer. This, as all his other books, make you want to carry on reading. His writing leads you to feel great empathy for the characters.
Published 6 months ago by A. Roberts
disappointed
love him as a comedian and was bought this as a present, and i can't state how disappointed i was. i was waiting to get to the body of the story and i never reached it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by andy
i laughed, i cried, i recommended it to you...
because i enjoyed it so much. also, if you missed the
meaning of life and hate everything in the world then go see on of his new stand up gigs! Read more
meaning of life and hate everything in the world then go see on of his new stand up gigs! Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2007 by C. S. Richardson
Tight, taught and clever
Watson has a refreshingly steady voice for a comedian. The prose doesn't pump and fizz as youmight expect from a stand-up comedian, rather it has a steady tension as the face of... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2006 by Vinny
Excellent first novel
If you want to read a book which is wry, relevant and readable, this is it.
Young Watson has really pulled off a coup with his first book, giving the reader something to think... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2004
A Very Promising Writer
For once I think the hype given to a 'next big thing' author might be justified. This is a really unusual, clever book with a brilliantly constructed plot and a load of highly... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2004
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