Dinner for Two
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Dinner for Two, the fourth novel from Mike Gayle, is, like its predecessors, a "blokes can be sensitive too" gander at the complicated lives of late twenty/thirtysomething Londoners. Dave Harding is a "serious music" journalist for Louder magazine, a publication "staffed by pro-faced boys who think that the more obscure the band is the cooler they are". When Louder folds Dave finds himself penning articles for Femme, a women's glossy edited by his beloved wife, Izzy, and then lands a job as the agony uncle of Teen Scene, a boy-band saturated magazine for adolescent girls. (Gayle was himself a jobbing journalist and agony uncle and in the interest of realism (or economy) re-purposes some of his own pieces for Cosmo etc. here.)
"Love Doctor" Dave finds, to his immense surprise, he rather enjoys his new career, soon he's dispensing romantic advice to correspondents, friends and colleagues with gay abandon. Since Izzy's recent miscarriage however, Dave has been obsessed with one thing: babies. At 31, he wants, more than anything else, to become a father, that is until he receives an astonishing letter from Nicola, a 13-year-old Teen Scene reader. Nicola claims that Dave is her Dad. After a few clandestine meetings in McDonalds and Burger Kings he's convinced but should he tell Izzy anything? True to his gender he dithers with predictably catastrophic, well, to be completely honest, mildly (and only briefly) unfortunate results.--Travis Elborough --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Full of belly-laughs and painfully acute observations' (Independent on Sunday on MY LEGENDARY GIRLFRIEND )
'Something near to mid-period Woody Allen... a delicate blend of realism and whimsy...funny and clever...refreshing to find a male writer working in this genre' (Guardian on MR COMMITMENT )
'A warm, funny romantic comedy' (Daily Mail on TURNING THIRTY )
'Something near to mid-period Woody Allen... a delicate blend of realism and whimsy...funny and clever...refreshing to find a male writer working in this genre' (Guardian on MR COMMITMENT )
'A warm, funny romantic comedy' (Daily Mail on TURNING THIRTY )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a confirmed Gayle addict, I have been waiting for the difficult second album syndrome to set in with each new novel - surely he must write a dodgy book soon. The odds were therefore high on this, his fourth novel, being crap but I think I love it even more than the others. It's warm and welcoming. Yet again he seems to have written a book that mirrors my thoughts and feelings at this stage of my 30-something life. You find yourself developing a genuine concern for all the key characters in the book and I particularly liked the young girl, Nicola. What a cool kid! I recommend this as the perfect book to read on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
P.S. Top quotes and music references throughout.
P.S. Top quotes and music references throughout.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read "Turning Thirty" just before I did, I became a Mike Gayle convert. "Dinner for Two" is not as laugh out loud funny as Turning Thirty, Mr Commitment or MLG but is just as good if not better as an overall read (I was gripped and sat at read it in an afternoon).
Turning 'bloke lit.' on its head to present a character that wanted a child when his partner/wife wasn't that bothered was a clever gamble that paid off. Sensitively written but not so twee that you couldn't believe that the lead guy didn't really exist somewhere. The only problem I face now is that I've run out of Mike Gayle books to read. Mike, can you hurry up and write another? Cheers
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was lucky to come across Mike Gayle having had My Legendary Girlfriend recommended to me by the girl who cuts my hair. I bought it, liked it, bought his other 2 books and liked them equally. Dinner For Two was in the shops last Thursday. I bought it and had finished it by Saturday lunchtime. It's not much of a departure from his other books. Mike Gayle writes in an easy, almost chatty style that's easy to fall into very quickly. Being a 30 something the best thing about it is that his observations seem to be mine. He speaks like I speak. He (or more correctly, his characters) whinges about what I whinge about. It's one of those books where you think he must have met you since so much seems spot on. He hasn't, of course. He's just a 30 something too and we're all made from the same mould I think.
Mike Gayle fans won't be disappointed. If you like Nick Hornby, Tony Parsons et al, you won't be disappointed either.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A broody man gets his wish, but not as expected
Bloke-lit in the vain of Tony Parsons or Nick Hornby. I did enjoy seeing life from the other side of the gender divide. Read more
Published 11 months ago by soffitta1
Twee
I've read Turning Thirty and My Legendary Girlfriend and thought they were good. I was dubious about Dinner for Two. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Velvet
Great read
An easy to read very entertaining book. Its warm, funny romantic and sad, a great holiday book. This is my first Mike Gayle novel and I will certainly read his others.
Published on 25 July 2006 by M. Spicer
Excellent
As soon as I read the first page of this book I was enthralled and I couldn't wait to read another chapter, so much so that my sleep pattern was interuppted, as I generally read... Read more
Published on 6 July 2006 by Mike Gayle, Fan
A light and enjoyable read.
Mike Gayle has a friendly fluid style which really helps you relax after a hard day at work. This novel may not be highbrow literature but it is certainly an enjoyable read. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2006 by caroline
Dinner for Two
On the heels of finishing `MR. COMMITMENT' also by Mike Gayle I rushed out to buy one of his other critically acclaimed novels with high hopes of it being equal to or better than... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2005 by DevJohn01
Dinner for two
I have enjoyed reading all of Mike Gayle's books, but I found Dinner For Two especially good. The story was well written and made you feel as if you were there with the... Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2005 by "cms83"
Very good, but you kind of know what's going to happen...
I got this, my first by the author to take on holiday, and it was read first. It was a really good read, involving, but didn't appeal to me in quite the same way as Nick Hornby's... Read more
Published on 20 July 2005
great book
this is another one of mike gayles great reads he is just fantastic it is not as good or as addictive as my legendary ex girlfriend but is still a great story and fantastic once... Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2005 by Fi
A Gayle too far
I enjoyed 'Turning Thirty' (although that was a lot to do with being able to identify with the Birmingham locales) but this book was a Gayle too far. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2004 by Kevin Clarke
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