How to be a Better Person [Paperback]

I really enjoyed this book. I found it heart-warming, funny and (at least to a small degree) inspiring.

It's a simple idea: author Hunter embarks on throwing himself into various voluntary projects over the course of a year or so out of some indistinct sense of civic duty in the hope of finding some deeper spiritual and communal purpose. He is also honest enough to admit that his journey may well throw up enough interesting material to flesh out another book into the bargain.

Starting out at an atypical branch of Oxfam we accompany Seb as he tries a whole raft of glamour-free voluntary projects from litter-picking to hospital radio volunteering. What we learn is that although some projects are somewhat more gratifying than others, by and large, there is something innately worthwhile and satisfying in giving up our most precious commodity - time - for nothing other than the simple and noble desire to help others.

But does Hunter end up a changed man by the end of it? Well, without giving too much away (and despite his occasional ambivalence of the merit of some of the activities he gets involved with) it would be fair to say that the conclusion is fairly predictable - but no less satisfying for that.

Hunter has a very agreeable writing style notwithstanding the overuse of footnotes (which are on the whole very funny). Parallels have been drawn with Bill Bryson and (having read a few Bryson books) I don't think this is a wholly idle boast by Hunter's publishers. Hunter has a wonderful ear for dialogue and his characters are often wonderfully drawn in a pleasingly laconic style (his depiction of the terrifying charity-shop helper Gladys would be a wonderful comic 'creation' were it not for the fact that - worryingly - the woman is probably still 'at large' working somewhere). I genuinely laughed out loud throughout this book and found the 'journal-entry' style allowed me to dip in and out easily. What's more I found myself to be genuinely moved at times by these ostensibly slight and amusing tales and I often found myself re-examining some of my own attitudes and mused over the prospect of doing something 'more worthwhile'. Hunter makes no apologies for trying to summon an army of volunteers and cheerfully enjoins the reader to follow his lead or - at the very least - *think* about it. Well, as far as this particular reader is concerned it is mission accomplished (well at least the 'thinking about it' part anyway...).

My only criticism of the book (save the footnotes issue) is its title. Be careful where you read it unless you want anyone to think you are some sort of pious sad case, who's into the many lame self-help cod-psychology books out there. It may sound pathetic but I was actually slightly embarrassed to be seen reading this book which is a shame. When I've been asked 'what are you reading' and I show the book's jacket there's usually a brief pause then a slightly reproachful, 'um, oh I see...' followed by a barely perceptible searching look. 'No,' I counter 'it's not what you're thinking...' and then go on to try and convince them that it's actually a bawdy knockabout laugh-riot (God forbid anyone should think I was actually trying to improve myself or 'be a better person'). Just avoid reading it on the Tube or just slip another less embarrassing jacket from another book over it (e.g. Best of Razzle/Take a Break etc) and you'll be fine.

Seb wants to volunteer at the local zoo, and finds they're incredibly reluctant to take him on. (Perhaps because they think he's a bit of a misfit: long-haired, self-questioning, authority-baiting, a keen eye for absurdity and pretence.) There's a kind of conversational dance - brilliantly conveyed - where he has to express just the right amount of interest in the animals. Too little and they'll think he's not serious, too much, and they'll think he's some sort of pervert (he worries). In the end, they knock him back anyway, with no explanation. Seb, infuriated, informs the reader that he's off to post negative comments on the zoo's website...then reports back that there is no website.
This is one of the funniest episodes in the book (you have to read it, obviously) and it also captures the way in Seb brings the reader along on his journey. It's very vivid (often toe-curlingluy awkward) and - you feel - very honest.
There are plenty of outstandingly funny episodes: the long-term and totally uncharitable volunteer Gladys who terrorises Seb while working at Oxfam, and the extended final section as Seb prepares to run a half-marathon (his training consists of speeding up every time he goes near a woman, and fretting about the best music for running). As with Seb's other books, the dialogue is extremely well written, revelling in the hidden rhythmns and strangenesses of the mundane, its superfical flatness the same kind of comedy vehicle as you find in The Office or Peep Show.
As the title half-seriously suggests, there are more serious things at stake here too. Seb occasionally agonises over his motives and behaviour - in this he well represents his belated, benighted generation - and has some sharp things to say about consumerism and atomisation. Probably the most powerful section of this ultimately optimistic book is the relationship between Seb and Apo, a Congolese refugee who he tries to help through the appallingly obstructive and unkind British system for asylum seekers.
It's honest and very funny - I wolfed it down.

Having already read and enjoyed another of Hunter's offerings, Hell Bent For Leather, I was keen to get stuck into this new book. Much as the other title of his I'd read, I found the anecdotes interesting and amusing and easy to believe and relate to. I've also got an interest because I am keen on charity work so it was interesting to read the experiences of another volunteer/attempted do-gooder. I'd recommend this book.