- Hardcover: 145 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Books; 1st ed edition (26 Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843543575
- ISBN-13: 978-1843543572
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 13.6 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 246,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
The advent of the home computer has made Christmas round robin letters ubiquitous. Where once the hot news about Tamsin's A levels would be sent in a short note, now it's not unusual to get a letter that includes several pages of misery - emergency operations, dead relatives, sackings, rainy holidays and so forth - decorated with jolly snowmen and smiling Santas. Some people go further and send out whole booklets. Computers have also made it possible to include photographs of the family eating pate in their Provencal garden, or sitting in a hot tub in California. Simon Hoggart gets hundreds of round robin letters sent to him every year and has collected the funniest, most irritating, most surreal extracts into this hilarious short book. Along the way he considers why people hate these letters so much and what they tell us about the British middle classes. What, exactly, lies behind the impulse to write about Roger's decision to cycle to work for health reasons, or Jeremy's trip to Tasmania, or the replacement pet rabbit?
About the Author
Simon Hoggart writes a weekly diary for the Guardian, for which he also writes a daily parliamentary sketch. He also writes about wine and TV for the Spectator and is chairman of BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Simon Hoggart hits the nail squarely on its head in this very funny assault on 'round robiners', as he calls those peculiar people who feel the need to bore the world with even the dullest news of themselves and their offspring.
Especially funny are some quite surreal extracts from the many round robins he has collected over the last few years: those where, for example, news of a close relative's death occupy less space than news of a holiday or recently acquired appliance.
I'd like to think that this book will shame all round robiners into desisting from their Pooteresque annual habit....but I doubt it.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I made a complete fool of myself in a London bookshop by reading this book: I laughed so hard I almost fell over. If, like me, you're infuriated every year by the fact that people really seem to think that the results of the dog's hernia surgery and Chloe's Grade 8 contrabassoon will interest their friends, you may fall over too. If you are a round-robiner, on the other hand, this might shame you into giving up or at least being less economical with the truth. Either way, it's a very good buy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Recently, I heard a tale of someone sending one from her and her husband. He'd died since she wrote the newsletter, but she sent it anyway, mentioning his demise in a scribbled note at the bottom. These things are beyond parody, and well-done Simon Hoggart for showing them up for what they are. But having said they are beyond parody, "Noel & Ellen's Weird and Wonderful History of the Dreaded Christmas Newsletter" does a pretty good job, and is another barbed present to give to those who are not yet shamed enough!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Email has ruined the Christmas round robin
I already own this book and bought it for a friend. Brilliant, funny, clever and revealing. Such a shame that email and tweeting has killed the Christmas round robin.
Published 7 months ago by Moose Papoose
Cunning Cat
Very happy to be able to buy a second copy of this book as it was a gift for a friend - cannot comment on content as I know it already but am certain the stories Simon Hoggart... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. D. Wadham
Why I give this book 5 stars when I haven't read it yet.
I'm just about to read this book but it gets 5 stars from me already because round-robin Christmas letters are to me and many others, irritating beyond belief. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2005
A lot of fun, but based on a false premiss
Many people write lousy letters. The premiss of this book is that they should stop trying, and join the lazy lot who cannot be bothered to write anything more on their Xmas cards... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2004 by Gavin Wilson
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