Inconceivable [Mass Market Paperback]

Whenever Sam thinks about babies, he envisages rivers of vomit and sleepless nights. But wife Lucy can't walk past Mothercare without crying. What's more, she can't seem to conceive--not by traditional methods, anyway. Hippy confidante Drusilla suggests an array of New Age remedies, including the intimate use of nutmeg oil and al fresco lovemaking. As Lucy faces a possible verdict of infertility, her love for Sam enters tailspin, accelerated by the advent of arrogant actor Carl Phipps. Meanwhile Sam, desperate to escape his tedious BBC job, conceives the inconceivable--turning the intimacies of their battle for babies into an acclaimed movie script.

Inconceivable tells a poignant and heart-rending story with Elton's trademark wit, creating a novel that is entertaining and emotionally satisfying; as explosive as Popcorn and with the incendiary humour of Blast From the Past. It courageously tackles its central theme from both the male and the female points of view, and while delivering laughs on every page, it steers clear of laddish clichés. Lucy's tale, though pregnant with unfulfilled emotion, never stints on humour. "There seem," she fumes, "to be more urban myths attached to infertility than there are to ... film stars filling their bottoms with small animals."

Aside from the rich vein of gags about DIY conception (Sam has to leave a power lunch with the excuse: "Sorry, my wife is ovulating ..."), Elton also subjects the TV industry to relentless stand-up-style bombardment, giving birth to some brilliant asides which enrich the main story but never overpower it. Funny, tragic, true and ultimately heart warming, this book should be available on the National Health Service. --Matthew Baylis

Praise for Blast From The Past:

‘Only Ben Elton could combine uncomfortable questions about gender politics wtih a gripping, page-turning narrative and jokes that make you laugh out loud.’
Tony Parsons

‘Elton at his most outrageously entertaining.’
Cosmopolitan

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Extremely clever, funny, well-written, sharp and unexpectedly moving...This brilliant, chaotic satire merits rereading several times." -- Nicholas Coleridge, " Mail on Sunday"

"This is Elton at his best -- mature, humane, and still a laugh a minute. At least." -- "Daily Telegraph"

"A very funny book about a sensitive subject...Ben Elton the writer might be even funnier than Ben Elton the comic." -- "Daily Mail"

"A tender, beautifully balanced romantic comedy." -- "Spectator"

"Moving and thoroughly entertaining." -- "Daily Express" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The hilarious and poignant new novel from one of Britain's most entertaining and provocative writers.

Sam and Lucy seem like the perfect couple. Successful, happy and in love. But life isn't that simple. Lucy thinks thinks Sam is a sad, cold sensitivity-exclusion zone who would rather read a newspaper than have an emotion. Sam thinks Lucy is blaming him because she can't walk past Mothercare without getting all teary. The problem is that they might be infertile. And in more ways than one.

Lucy wants a baby. Sam wants to write a hit movie. And given that the average IVF cycle has about a one in five chance of going into full production, Lucy's chances of getting what she wants are considerably better than Sam's.

What Sam and Lucy are about to go through is absolutely inconceivable. The question is, can their love survive? Or are the odds stacked against them once again?

The hilarious and poignant new novel from one of Britain’s most entertaining and provocative writers.

Lucy desperately wants a baby. Sam is determined to write a hit movie. The problem is that both their efforts seem to be unfruitful. And given that the average IVF cycle has about a one in five chance of going into full production, Lucy's chances of getting what she wants are considerably better than Sam's.

What Sam and Lucy are about to go through is absolutely inconceivable. The question is, can their love survive?

Inconceivable confirms Ben Elton as one of Britain's most significant, entertaining and provocative writers.

BEN ELTON's career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood.

Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight's the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty (out in Black Swan paperback in April 2006) Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.

He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson.