One warm July morning Mr Phillips climbs out of bed, leaving Mrs Phillips dozing. He prepares for his commute into the city - but this is no ordinary Wednesday. It is a day on which Mr Phillips will chat with a pornographer, stalk a tv mini-celebrity, have lunch with an aspiring record mogul, and get caught up in a bank robbery. It is, as Mr Phillips comes to realise, the first day of the rest of his life - whether he wants it to be or not. All this is both better and worse than being at work. So why is Mr Phillips, a cautious middle-aged accountant, not behind his desk calculating the financial consequences of redundancies or recommending the savings to be made from more responsible use of yellow sticky note pads?
Mr Phillips
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Fiftysomething Victor Phillips is a senior-ish accountant with respected City firm Wilkins & Co. Or rather, he was: unbeknown to his sons, his saintly wife and his nosy suburban neighbours, Mr Phillips has lost his job, and doesn't know what to do next. So what he does do is the most sadly predictable: pretend he's still in work. On the morning of the day's events that comprise the entirety of this novel he rises as per, breakfasts as per and steps out into the city, as per. From then on, though, he embarks on a bizarre odyssey around London, doing various sad, strange or aimless things: if he's not ogling schoolgirls on buses, he's being accosted by nutters in the Tate or trying to meet TV celebs during a bank robbery.
Taken as read, the whole might sound odd: a Diary of a Next To Nobody. What saves from the book from being weirdly boring is Lanchester's skill in capturing Mr Phillips' inner voice: as the ex-accountant schleps around town he is constantly working out, for instance, how many women take their clothes off for money, or how much more likely it is one will die on any given week than win the National Lottery (about 3,000 times more likely). All this is very witty and very well done--and very much the meat of the book. If the novel is ultimately aimless, that is, of course, the point. John Lanchester has taken an average day in an averagely tragic life and made from it, if not great art, a readable, amusing and perceptive novel. --Sean Thomas
Book Description
The perfect companion to Capital, this is John Lanchester's tale of a businessman's life unraveling in a day.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Graham Figg
Format:Paperback
I think reviewers who dislike this book have completely missed the point. Its not about how accurate office life is depicted, or whether the correct accountancy and word processing programmes are name checked, its about how out of control we feel about modern life and how this is reconciled in somebody's head. I first read this book when my accountancy career took a bit of a wobble, and always return to it for a bit of comfort! It is absolutely convincing on the consistency, the character, and the expression of Mr Phillips thoughts. I particularly enjoyed the calculation of the chances of dying compared to winning the national lottery. Its also stunningly accurate in respect of men under stress thinking constantly about sex (sorry ladies) and also on the sheer pointlessness of about 90% of modern life. As this review appears to be becoming more about me than the book, I'll stop right here!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Ultimately disappointing, this slim novel's limited appeal is based on a rather two-dimensional character, the eponymous Mr Phillips. Whilst his inner musings occasionally bring a smile to one's lips, his ultimate fate is of no real interest to the reader. Perhaps the tale would have made a satisfying short story; alas, an accomplished novel it is not.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this after Capital, which I enjoyed very much. This was not on the same epic scale, or as well crafted. I did finish it however, so it can't be that bad!
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Different from Capital
A lot of this book takes the form of the main charachter's thoughts at a time when he has found himself at a crossroads that he didn't choose. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Kirkintilloch John
1.0 out of 5 stars
Complete drivel
I really enjoyed Capital so I thought I'd work my way through the rest of his titles. Unfortunately I started with this one and, as a result, will not bother with the rest. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Helen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mr Phillips
Enjoyable bed time story; not in an y way as absorbing as "Capital", However would recommend it as a revealing storyline.
Published 26 days ago by N/N
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining Read
I purchased Mr Phillips during a Kindle sale so wasn't the sort of book I would have usually picked out. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Amey
4.0 out of 5 stars
London Calling
An enjoyable & humorous read, Mr Lanchesters characters are outstanding & he shows himself to be a great observer of life in London. Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. Woodwards
1.0 out of 5 stars
I'm no prude but this was just awful
Weak storyline and gratuitous use of the 'c' word. Can't believe anyone is like the main character in this novel. Capital is a much better book.
Published 2 months ago by S. Hutchison
3.0 out of 5 stars
well written but unexciting
I really like the way John Lanchester writes but found this a disappointment after 'Capital', which I really enjoyed. Read more
Published 2 months ago by pixie g
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not this time round
I had so enjoyed Fragrant Harbour that I was really looking forward to reading another John Lanchester book but what a disappointment. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Anne Farmer
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
I came to Mr Phillips having read Lanchester's brilliant and timely Capital, a truly excellent book. Mr Phillips, however, is not good. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Daniel Meadows
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very average
I very much enjoyed capital by John Lanchester. But this earlier offering? Let us just say he's got better over time.
Published 3 months ago by Alexander H
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