Thursday, June 18, 2009

Friends Like These - Danny Wallace



This book was funny. Laugh out loud funny. I love British humor. Amazon.co.uk says "Danny Wallace is about to turn thirty and his life has become a cliche. Recently married and living in a smart new area of town, he's swapped pints for lattes and had even contemplated buying coasters. Something wasn't right - he was feeling way too grown-up. Until - Danny finds an old address book containing just twelve names. His best mates as a kid. Where are they now? Who are they now? And how are they coping with this scary concept of being grown-up? And so begins a journey from A-Z, tracking down and meeting his old gang. He travels from Berlin to Tokyo, from Sydney to LA. He even goes to Loughborough. He meets Fijian chiefs. German rappers. Some ninjas. And a carvery manager who's managed to solve time travel. But how will they respond to a man they haven't seen in twenty years, turning up and asking if they're coming out to play?"

I didn't realize till I was half-way through it that this wasn't a fiction book but a book based on his own experiences. That made it even funnier. Some of the things he does are brilliant and I couldn't imagine doing them. I liked the idea of getting to an age where people feel that they need to look to their past and to get in touch with people who were imporant to them. Growing up we make friends pretty easily and many times we grow apart from old friends when we make new ones. I have moved around a lot since I finished high school so I have made new friends in a lot of different places but there are only a few that I keep in touch with. The invention of Facebook has allowed me to see what everyone is up to from my past and my present.

There was one scene in this book where Danny Wallace visits Tokyo and goes to a ninja-style restaurant. It was sooo funny and so a place that I would love to visit. He has quite a lot of adventures. He wrote the book Yes, Man and I had just watched the movie last week. Once again I didn't know that the movie was based on his real life. I think I will have to pick up some more of his books!

Rating - 4

No comments: