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Man and Boy
 
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Man and Boy (Paperback)

by Tony Parsons (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (232 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Man and Boy + Man and Wife + One for My Baby
Price For All Three: £17.57

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; New edition edition (6 Mar 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006512135
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006512134
  • Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 12.9 x 2.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (232 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 17,241 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #4 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > P > Parsons, Tony

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Some situations to avoid when preparing for your all-important, finally-I-am-fully-grown thirtieth birthday.
Having a one-night stand with a colleague from work.
The rash purchase of luxury items you can't afford.
Being left by your wife.
Losing your job.
Suddenly becoming a single parent.

If you are coming up to 30, whatever you do, don't do any of that.
It will fuck up your whole day.

So begins Man and Boy, Tony Parson's foray into fiction. Or non-fiction. Rumoured to be a roman à clef, the well-known journalist and broadcaster writes the story of a successful TV executive who brings up his child alone after a failed marriage--much like Parson's own life.

Harry Silver, the book's anti-hero, has it all: a beautiful wife, an angelic son and a high-paying job. His life is just about perfect, until one night he casually sleeps with a slim redheaded coworker who has "that kind of fine Irish skin that is so pale it looks as though it has never seen the sun". After the fateful night, his life falls apart. He loses his job and his wife in rapid succession, and finds himself a single, unemployed parent. It is an excellent education for a man who up until now has been immature and irresponsible, and Parsons has some strong points to make about the puerility of far too many contemporary males: "Being a man is like being chained to the village idiot." At times he piles on the disasters and plot-twists a little too thickly, but the ending is wildly romantic, redemptive and optimistic. In other words, Harry grows up. -- Christopher Hart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
'Wistful, touching and funny, it looks back at the glory days of the family without losing hope for the future. In the end, it is a deeply touching book: a love letter to a son from his father, and to a father from his son' Mail on Sunday 'One of the finest books published this year! Hilarious and tear-jerking in turns' Express 'Parsons has written a sharp, witty and wise book straight from his heart. His characters are all nitty-gritty, bounce-off-the-page, real people; his dialogue is brilliant' Daily Mail 'A touching novel! full of quiet tenderness, and written from the heart' Independent

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Man and Boy
82% buy the item featured on this page:
Man and Boy 3.8 out of 5 stars (232)
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Customer Reviews

232 Reviews
5 star:
 (110)
4 star:
 (51)
3 star:
 (23)
2 star:
 (17)
1 star:
 (31)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (232 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars I laughed (in disbelief) and cried (in sheer agony), 26 Jun 2001
By A Customer
So a man has to look after his son and--good golly--he does! So a man's father dies and--my gosh--he's sad! Throw in a few dodgy remarks about how all male models are gay, and how great the working classes used to be, and what you have is a book that manages to be boring and sneakily nasty at the same time.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother. I wish I hadn't!, 3 Aug 2001
By A Customer
I did really try to give the book a chance but it's so full of male self pity that I couldn't stand it anymore by the time I got to the end of the book. Throughout the book the main character keeps getting annoyed with his wife for being a bad mother since she left him after finding out about his fling with another woman. Are we actually supposed to sympathise with this pathetic mysogynistic character? The author appears to be fighting some sort of single father cause for all men, but I just felt that it was all a bit lame...
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars boring and dull, 4 Sep 2001
The first three lines were probably the most exciting thing about the whole book. After that it went seriously downhill. Tony Parsons fails to bring any originality, excitement or passion to any of the characters or the story line. The "characters" which I think Tony was intending to make humorous were about as charismatic as a lettuce-leaf. The story line was deserving of one star...a nice idea if it was going to be executed well but the ending was just sooooo Hollywood and the descriptive passages were just not descriptive. Even the bedroom scenes would have put an accountant to sleep. Well done Tony in my opinion you have just won another Book Award.... for the MOST BORING BOOK EVER!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Cynical emotional exploitation
Reading the positive reviews of this book, and seeing the sales figures it has achieved, leaves me feeling bewildered at the gullability of the public in the hands of a hack like... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Crocus

5.0 out of 5 stars Man and Boy - every man's life under a microscope
When someone says 'You must read this, it's brilliant', that usually means I will hate it. MAN AND BOY was an exception. Read more
Published 4 months ago by D. Saint

1.0 out of 5 stars Dreadful !
One of those books that, within a few pages, you just know won't get any better but you keep ploughing on optimistically. Read more
Published 6 months ago by P. Maley

5.0 out of 5 stars Man & Boy
A great story written with real feeling, an honest take on the emotional hurt of a marriage breakdown.

Slow to start, but stick with it - it's well worth it.
Published 6 months ago by Mr. J. Hancock

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, really liked this book
i enjoyed reading this book i got into it straight away deftintly read another one of his
Published 9 months ago by Ms. D. L. Parkinson

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixture of great, and grating
I really liked the basic storyline and a lot of the characters. It was a refreshing change from the history, detective and chicklit which most novels nowadays seem to be... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Apple-eater

5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book - and the ones that followed.
I will admit that in parts it does tend to grate, but it`s the sort of grating that you would get if - say your brother had seperated from his wife and he`d sit there, chin on the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Leeds lass

3.0 out of 5 stars 'Nice'
Pretty engaging and heartwarming, as long as you've got a soft spot for 'bloke lit' and don't want to be challenged.
Published 19 months ago by Mr. Stuart Bruce

2.0 out of 5 stars Charmless, lazy, bloke lit
Man and Boy emanates from a peculiar (and now, thankfully, passe) genre of British fiction best described as Bridget Jones for middle-class, middle-brow, middle-aged,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. O. Buxton

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor male attempt at 'Chick-lit'.
I bought this novel at an airport bookstore. I was hoping for a resonant exploration of the experiences of fatherhood, "son hood", marriage, divorce, remarriage, etc... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Brendan O. Clarke

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