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The Cat That Could Open the Fridge: A Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round Robin Letters
 
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The Cat That Could Open the Fridge: A Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round Robin Letters (Hardcover)

by Simon Hoggart (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 145 pages
  • Publisher: Atlantic Books; This is a First Edition 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: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 200,064 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Tell it as it is, Simon!, 15 Nov 2004
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.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-Out-Loud Hilarious, 10 Dec 2004
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.
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18 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun, but based on a false premiss, 12 Dec 2004
By Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
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 than 'Love and best wishes, Maureen'.

Personally, I think everyone needs the encouragement to write better letters. I get fed up with receiving the 'Love and best wishes' variant of cards from people I haven't seen for years. All they seem to be implying is that someone in their family is still sufficiently alive to send the card, and yes, they would appreciate a card in return because they like to show them off. I'd rather hear news written badly, boastfully and photocopied than hear no news at all.

Hoggart has done a useful service in highlighting many of the more unintentionally amusing round-robin letters. But the message has to be that writers should raise their game -- not drop out completely.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I Hate Round-Robins, Too!
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... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Paul Scoby-Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

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