A Year in the Life of the Man Who Fell Asleep: Amazon.co.uk: Greg Stekelman: Books

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Synopsis
'The doorbell rang. I looked at my alarm clock. It was 3.00am. I closed my eyes and pretended I hadn't heard it. It rang again. I put on a pair of jeans and answered the door. It was Jesus. 'He looked terrible. His hair was unkempt and there were grey bags under his eyes. He stank of whisky. You had best come in, I said.' So begins a year in the life of The Man Who Fell Asleep - artist, thinker, writer, North Londoner, and alter-ego of Greg Stekelman, the bastard lovechild that James Thurber, Mark Twain and Eddie Izzard never had. Part novel, part journal, part snippets of conversation overheard on the Tube, part collection of drawings of Kevin Spacey and Condaleeza Rice, this unique diary is guaranteed to have you weeping with bemused laughter before you reach the end of the first chapter.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So good it's scary., 26 Feb 2008

By	B. "go on, take my advice - you know you want... - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I've found a new book to add to my list of favorites! A Year in the Life of the Man Who Fell Asleep is by far the best satire I've read in years- quite possibly ever.

The Man Who Fell Asleep began life as a blogging project, but that's where all semblance of order or continuity fly out the window. What you're left with is a hilarious / bizarre / unique / and ultimately original take on everything that flows from the author's very talented, fertile mind to the keyboard. Stekelman hates people... hates the sun... hates shadow... hates light... hates leaving the house and, for the most part, hates himself. He's apathetic to the nth degree, but he's content in his maladjustment.

He's also an excellent metaphor-maker: "The light was golden and cloudy, like bottled piss." , and his take on famous genres of psychoanalysis are not to be missed. Here's a sample of the Freudian approach:

PATIENT: I had a dream last night that I was running a marathon, but my shoelaces were untied - the nearer I got to the finish line, the more anxious I got that I would fall. I couldn't bear to stop or look back. I was running from something, but I don't know what it was.

ANALYST: Interesting. The marathon is your mother. The shoes are your father. You are gay.

PATIENT: Oh.

As if the entries aren't enough, he also illustrates many of his thoughts, including drawings of what Kurt Cobain would look like as Charlie Brown, and a 90th birthday card that reads: `Happy 90th Birthday - All Your Friends Are Dead'

Heh.

While 99% of the The Man Who Fell Asleep is genius satire; there's also a great entry hidden away on June 29th that's the complete antithesis of humor. Be sure to look for it as it's an excellent showcase of Stekelman's range.

Throughout the book you'll find all kinds of nutty off the wall stuff, such as astrological charts for the periodic table and multiple conversations with God and/or Jesus (always with hilarious results). I could go on and on, but you get the drift: I absolutely loved it.

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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing, original book., 23 Jun 2006

By	Fidel Fearless - See all my reviews

This is an amazing book. It takes the form of a diary and tells the story of a year in the life of The Man Who Fell Asleep, an aimless, philosophically-challenged man in London. He encounters celebrities, polar bears and (memorably) Jesus. It's a very funny book but it raises a lot of serious issues about identity, morality and philosophy. In many ways, it's a very London book, but I don't think you need to know London to enjoy the book. It's about a man and his disconnection from his surroundings; a man who takes refuge in fantasy because real life is filled with contradictory, confusing notions. It's a beautifully written book, striking a perfect note between irreverent fantasy and cynical reality. Recommended to anyone with a brain, a sense of humour and imagination.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Hilarious, 23 Nov 2007

By	Ms. R. S. Dampare (London, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book to be a hugely refreshing and welcome change from what is usually on offer in book shops. There isn't a plot as such but that is what makes the diary format ideal. The reader is thrown straight into Stekelman's unique style on the very first page when themanwhofellasleep has an encounter with a Jesus very different from what one would expect. The book is never boring slipping effortlessly from the cheeky to the downright outrageous. I defy you to read this on the train and not laugh to yourself; when I was reading the 'Jokes' passage I giggled so much I think a bit of wee came out.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Falling asleep would have been the easy option!
Falling asleep would have been the easy option! Staying awake to read this through to the bitter end was the challenge! Read more

Published 23 days ago by Beth Loves Books

3.0 out of 5 stars Mehhhh......not funny....
Must say from the reviewers I saw on here I was expecting the book to be very funny but I must say I didn't find it entertaining at all. Read more

Published 12 months ago by R. Etemad

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely pointless (or am I missing the point?)
After reading some of the reviews on Amazon for this book I was really looking forward to reading it on holiday. Read more

Published 13 months ago by David Conitzer

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant
This is the best book that I've read in a very long time (maybe 2 years). It's written as a diary and the entries are pretty much totally unconnected and so some entries are... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Matthew Parker

5.0 out of 5 stars truly original voice
this series of short essays/chapters covering a year in the author's life is so funny and idiosyncratic! i stayed up way too late reading it, wanting to read 'just one more'. Read more

Published on 2 May 2007 by meggo

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Extremely funny, strange, unique, surrealist; depressing in the good way. Not much to say that hasn't been mentioned, except that you MUST buy this book. You won't regret it. Read more

Published on 13 Feb 2007 by ZKS

4.0 out of 5 stars A literary hallucinogen
The book is a diary of sorts, as the title suggests, spanning a year in the life of the protagonist 'the man who fell asleep'. Read more

Published on 26 Sep 2006 by a reader

5.0 out of 5 stars A work of genius
This book is hilarious! A work of genius. I love it. It's got everything you want in a book: a good story, it's really funny, it makes you think and it's a great gift for friends... Read more

Published on 27 Aug 2006 by Hypno Toad

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing beats a good night's sleep
I love sleeping and who doesn't and that's why I bought this book. I must say that this is the best book I have ever read, the last book I read was Delia Smith's how to cook an... Read more

Published on 20 May 2006 by WG Sinclair

4.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic, funny book - totally unique
I was lucky enough to get hold of a copy of this book a few days before it was released and I've been sitting around the house laughing to myself and looking like an idiot. Read more

Published on 18 April 2006 by Daniel Higgins

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A Year in the Life of the Man Who Fell Asleep (Paperback)

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