Four star review, originally posted here on February 26th, 2024.
It goes without saying, but if you’re not really into Ayoade’s style of humor, then you won’t like this. if you ARE into Ayoade’s humor, though, then this book is absolutely hilarious. I recommend doing the audiobook (read by the author) so you can get his perfect deadpan delivery.
I began cracking up as soon as the book began. I mean, this is hilarious shit. However, I was concerned on whether this is a premise that can last for an entire book. The answer is no, it cannot. Which is why it’s great that this is a very short book! The audiobook runtime is only approximately 4.5 hours, which is just right. It’s enough time to get through the entire movie and bring in just the right amount of autobiographical stories, but stopping just as the premise starts to get thin.
This was an interesting one to listen to, given how deadpan it is. I mostly listened to it while walking around in public. I do a decent deadpan myself (not to toot my own horn), and of course, the premise is a little repetitive. So I was pretty stone-faced while walking around and listening to this. Then every couple paragraphs some line would slide in that made just lose it and cackle aloud. I must have looked like an absolute nutter. That’s a sign of a great comedy book; the humor, somehow, manages to not get stale, even when it feels like it really should be.
Helga without the H 