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One for My Baby
 
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One for My Baby (Paperback)

by Tony Parsons (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.57 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

One for My Baby + Man and Wife + The Family Way: "His best since the very fine Man and Boy"
Price For All Three: £17.02

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; New edition edition (7 May 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006514812
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006514817
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 88,304 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

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

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

In One for My Baby Hong-Kong-based language teacher Alfie Budd is about to ingest several gallons of the stuff. Returning to London to nurse a broken heart, he finds a world he barely recognises. Terry Wogan plays REM on Radio Two, there are Tai Chi classes on Highbury Fields and the England of Alfie's youth seems a distant dream. Alfie's father is now sporting disco gear and pitifully clinging onto his relationship with a Czech au pair half his age. Alfie's mother, meanwhile, cares a great deal about her rose bushes and not at all about getting her husband back.

Dazed by these changes, Alfie drifts--on a cloud of Tsingtao beer and Sinatra-fuelled reverie--into a new teaching job and into a string of pointless affairs with his students. But a man can only drift for so long before he starts to sink--and Alfie must learn some bitter lessons before he can regain the happiness he once knew in Hong Kong.

Tony Parsons' second novel deserves to match the phenomenal success of his first, Man and Boy--although there are reasons why it might not. One for My Baby lacks the cutesy appeal of single fathers bringing up sons and some readers may find it--with its double portion of deaths and mid-life depressions--a more demanding read altogether. The book deals with tough realities, with people who have ceased to love themselves and each other, with snobbery and prejudice and the acute loneliness of city life. But the tale is redeemed, ultimately, because humour and warmth pervade even its darkest corners. The laughable antics of Alfie's father are balanced beautifully by George Chang, Alfie's serene and dignified Tai Chi instructor. And while our hero's journey is an arduous one, we are invited to laugh with and at him and never to pity him. Mr Parsons deserves praise for creating a book that is not merely different to his first but also bigger, tougher and cleverer. --Matthew Baylis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Review

Praise for One For My Baby: 'Subtle and intelligent' The Times 'Full of hard-earned wisdom. An essential purchase' GQ 'The same combination of self-deprecating humour and well-intentioned bafflement that endeared Man and Boy to millions of readers' Observer 'Stylish, polished, complex and it really gets its teeth into the big issues of sex, love, family and friendship' Mirror 'Another brilliant novel that combines laughter and tears, love and sex -- and real human emotions' Evening Standard 'The writing is confident and accomplished!He makes the reader care!This is art shot through with humanity' Independent on Sunday 'Heartbreakingly universal and full of killer lines on love and love lost' Financial Times Praise for Man and Boy: '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 'A touching novel! full of quiet tenderness, and written from the heart' Independent '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 grown-up novel that is simultaneously a heart-rending gripping read and suffused with an irresistable reality' Glasgow Herald

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One for My Baby
57% buy the item featured on this page:
One for My Baby 3.4 out of 5 stars (54)
£5.57
The Family Way: "His best since the very fine Man and Boy"
14% buy
The Family Way: "His best since the very fine Man and Boy" 3.4 out of 5 stars (43)
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Man and Boy
13% buy
Man and Boy 3.8 out of 5 stars (234)
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Man and Wife
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Customer Reviews

54 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down, 12 Aug 2001
This review is from: One for My Baby (Hardcover)
I read Tony Parson's previous novel "Man and Boy" last year and was waiting with expectation for his next book. I wasn't disappointed. It's not a great work of literary fiction but it is a book in which you can relate to the characters and imagine yourself in their position, making exactly the same mistakes. Tony Parson's strength is his ability to recognise and describe the workings and emotions of a thirtysomething man.

It's about Alfie Bud, a man in his thirties who has lost his wife and his sense of direction in life and love. It's funny, sad and addictive all at the same time. Do the human thing and buy it.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically touching, relevant and human., 16 May 2002
By A Customer
Tony Parson's second novel, I feel, surpassed his first. This book was a fantastic read and I often sneaked off from work to get a few pages in. I read this book staight after reading Nick Hornby's 'How To Be Good', and whilst I enjoyed Hornby's novel I was struck by the contrast between the two. Both were touching, thought provoking and, in places tender, however, whilst Hornby's book was ultimately depressing for me, the warmth of Parson's characters provided a glimmer of hope. A tremendous victory for the less-celebrated writer. Maybe Tony Parson's books will soon be being made into Hollywood blockbusters too.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Utter drivel, 3 Oct 2002
By Gareth Clark (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I read Man and Boy, and thought it was just about passable. Nothing new or interesting, just passable, so it was with trepidation and a sense of impending ennui that I opened One for my Baby.
I shouldn't have bothered, as this book confirms that Tony Parsons is a poor man's Nick Hornby who himself seems to content to write formulaic claptrap these days. That Parsons seeks to emulate Hornby, but fail to even achieve that level says everything about this tedious book. Is it me, or so these type of books follow some sort of "Mills and Boon for blokes" formula? 30-something man who lives in North London (normally Highgate or Holloway), having mid life crisis which is compounded by several key 'life' events such as the meeting of an ideal woman, or various women; the death of a parent; ludicrously stereotyped friends and the central character's reaction to all of the above etc etc. Unfortunately the net result is that by the time you have finished it (normally less than a day or two) it is almost impossible to differentiate from any of the many similar 'novels' on offer today.
I would compare One for my Baby to a Ford Sierra: initially very popular and sold in numbers but instantly forgettable and one may certainly ask 'What on earth did I buy that for?' a year or two down the line.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad


This book differs from `Man and Boy`, in that the character, Alfie
is much more emotionally led. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Ms. C. L. Baldwin

1.0 out of 5 stars Utterly depressing
I have thoroughly enjoyed many of Tony Parson's previous books but I found this utterly depressing. The usual wit and flow of Parson's books is replaced by the central character's... Read more
Published 3 months ago by K. WEBSTER

4.0 out of 5 stars From the cover.......
Alfie Budd found the perfect woman with whom to spend the rest of his life--and then lost her. He doesn't believe you get a second chance at love. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2007 by Angel Silver

4.0 out of 5 stars You must read to make your own mind up.
There are few negative reviews on this, and I can see where some are coming from, but I feel that the book as it stands is a great read, after getting through the first few... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2006 by Mr. Stuart Lindsay

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching
I am really surprised with the last two reviews I have seen about this book... I can only imagine those people never really loved someone! Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2006 by Lelya

1.0 out of 5 stars Read all his other books but this one.......................
Having read and enjoyed Parson's other books I looked forward to this read. As with some other reviewers I found it so desperately dull, depressing and predictable..... Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2005 by Baggie Blog

4.0 out of 5 stars a different story about the same things
Tony Parsons is great, but One form my baby isn't as good as Man and Boy, which was so great/wonderful/lovely. But I definitely likes One for my baby too. Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2005 by Faith

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly researched.
I picked up this book not knowing anything about the author thinking from the sleeve notes that it would be a good read. I was sorely disappointed. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2005 by Cecilia Strandqvist

4.0 out of 5 stars One for my Baby.
This is probably one of my all time favourite books and I find myself returning to it time after time. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2004 by Rich Milligan

1.0 out of 5 stars Formulaic, watery, rubbish, but it sells.
Tony parsons has hit on something of an ingredient for success it seems. A dash of over sentimental nonsense here, a sprinkle of cringe worthy emotion there, some heart felt loss,... Read more
Published on 16 Jul 2004 by R. Britain

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