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May Contain Nuts [Paperback]

John O'Farrell
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

1 Mar 2006

Alice never imagined that she would end up like this. Is she the only mother who feels so permanently panic-stricken at the terrors of the modern world - or is it normal to sit up in bed all night popping bubble wrap? She worries that too much gluten and dairy may be hindering her children's mental arithmetic. She frets that there are too many cars on the road to let them out of the 4x4. Finally she resolves to take control and tackle her biggest worry of all: her daughter is definitely not going to fail that crucial secondary school entrance exam. Because Alice has decided to take the test in her place...

With his trademark comic eye for detail, John O'Farrell has produced a funny and provocative book that will make you laugh, cry and vow never to become that sort of parent. And then you can pass it on to your seven-year-old, because she really ought to be reading grown-up novels by now...


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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New Ed edition (1 Mar 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0552771627
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552771627
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 21,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"As hilarious as it is spot-on" (Mail on Sunday )

"O'Farrell is a consistently humorous writer with an acute ear for the absurdities of middle class pretension. It's hard to fault his satire on competitive parenting or his conclusions regarding social inequalities" (Mail on Sunday )

"O'Farrell is one of the best contemporary satirists in the business and he has middle class pushy mothers down to a tee in this latest toe-curling, hackle-rising chronicle of hyper-parenting... The one-liners are sublime and the comedic situations utterly hilarious. Don't miss this" (Daily Record )

"O'Farrell has scored a bullseye with this satirical salvo... Taps into Middle England's neuroses with terrific wit" (The Herald )

Book Description

A satire about competitive, over-protective parents driving their children to tutors, to ballet, to insanity ...

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Witty and (often) wise 11 Sep 2005
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
A very funny read. Especially for anyone who has been around over-anxious/over-competitive middle class parents in the UK. Some great scenes (i.e. teaching young kids to play contract bridge) and dialogue.

The ending lacks subtlety (tho' has a good message). But perhaps O'Farrell deliberately wrote a book that does not demand too heavy attention levels, so that tired and distracted parents can read it without too much trouble.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Laugh out loud funny 22 Jun 2007
Format:Hardcover
This my first time reading a John O Farrell book and I was not sure what to expect. The book is written from the point of view of Alice an over anxious middle class mother desperately wanting the best for her children and loosing site to the fact that if she does everything for them they won't learn to do things themselves. After reading the first couple of pages (involving the `heroine' causing a car crash after ambushing an unsuspecting speeding driving with a mannequin dressed as Tony Blair in school uniform!) I was worried that the book was going to be ridiculous rather than satirical.

However I was wrong, though some of the premises in the book are a little off the wall (a mother sitting an exam for her daughter for one) he keeps the right side of satire and has written an extremely entertaining book. The over pushy parents timetabling every second of their children's life were priceless and sadly recognizable. I laughed out loud on several occasions especially at the children's book club.

The only problem that I had with the book was though I applaud the message that it is important that a school concentrates on pupils as people and not just their exam results I do think the last few chapters of the book were just a little over idealized. Generally a really good read.
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This could be any of us.... 16 Feb 2006
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up with no real enthusiasm, but after ten pages I was in fits of laughter. It is a very funny book indeed, and sharp as a razor. The characters are exaggerations but if you have a children of school age, or even better, if you know parents who do, you will immdediately recognise the absurd behaviour of people obsessed with protecting and promoting their little darlings. A wonderful, hysterical, bitter sweet satire of our time!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Easy if rather silly read.
Not as funny as some of John O'Farrell's other books. A good read on the plane or the beach. Light relief in between more complicated books I usually read.
Published 21 days ago by Mr. C. F. Slinger
3.0 out of 5 stars Book review
Book was described as 'Used - good'. It arrived very used, with a scruffy, dirty cover, an old sticky price tag half stuck on, and scruffy pages, with some folded over where they... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lin Wilkinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious!
This is a really good read - it's a thought-provoking and funny story of parents who lose sight of reality when it comes to getting their daughter into the right school. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jannice Raw
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny
Having read The Man who forgot his wife - I was keen to try another John O'Farrell novel. He is a funny writer with a quirky take on life. More please.
Published 3 months ago by Leila Anderson
3.0 out of 5 stars a bit disappointing....
I have read John O'Farrell books before and thought they were original and witty - even laughed out loud on many occassions, but not during this read. Read more
Published 4 months ago by booboo
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny
Another great book by the very funny John O Farrell ...these are suitable for male or female and never fail to make me laugh
Published 5 months ago by Sarah
4.0 out of 5 stars Skillfully Done
While I found this book to be more lightweight than some of his other novels it is a considerable skill to take an issue that causes so many parents so much angst, divides society... Read more
Published 9 months ago by JFD
4.0 out of 5 stars Razor sharp view of Middle England
Second reading is as enjoyable as the first with this book! Must be one of the most incisive insights into middle England and middle class world view with the hinterland on the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Peter Eustance
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected
I'm always a bit wary of books about the middle-class family London life, probably too close to the mark, but this really did win me over. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jas
4.0 out of 5 stars MAY CONTAIN NUTS
This is the second book of John O'Farrell's I have read. I read his latest one first "The Man Who Forgot His Wife" & loved it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Stella
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