A riproaring escapade through the world of sitcom, Gagged is so stuffed full of larger than life characters and cleverly interweaving storylines it's like a bumper holiday edition of all your favourite comicstrips rolled into one. At nearly 600 pages a lesser talent would have lost their momentum, and their readers attention, halfway through. But not so Richard Asplin, who is not only very, very funny, he is also a sickeningly good writer whose descriptive talents and comic timing led me hurtling through this book laughing like a loon.
I am not ordinarily a reader of books like this. I steer clear of comedy for fear of not quite getting the joke, and to be honest, the cover looked a little boy-sy. If it hadn't been forced into my hand by a friendly bookseller I might still be festering away in my own little unfunny land of no laughter. Thankfully Gagged snapped me from my comedy-coma and led me to a place of sunshine and smiles. It's not overtly boy-sy. It's excruciatingly funny and well written, and whether you're a fan of comedy or just a fan of good writing, i'm sure you'll find it a pleasure to read.
Roll on the next Richard Asplin ...
