Product Description

Enter the world of Susan Lilian Townsend - sun-worshippers, work-shy writers, garden-centre lovers and those in search of a good time all welcome. Over the last decade, Sue Townsend has written a monthly column for Sainsbury's Magazine, which covers everything from hosepipe bans and Spanish restaurants to writer's block and the posh middle-aged woman she once met who'd never heard of Winnie-the-Pooh. Collected together now for the first time, they form a set of pieces from one of Britain's most popular and acclaimed writers that is funny, perceptive and touching.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18856 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
'Full of... hilarious asides on the absurdities of domestic existence...what a fantastic advertisement for middle-age - it can't be bad if it's this funny' Heat

Hello! Magazine
'This is little England seen through the eyes of one of its best-loved satirists, and a welcome addition to any bookshelf'

Heat Magazine
'Full of homely, hilarious asides on the absurdities of domestic existence...What a fantastic advertisement for middle-age -it can't be bad if it's this funny.'

Customer Reviews

Bravo
A collection of Townsends articles written for Sainsbury's magazine. They have no common subject, she just writes whatever happens to be in her mind. An extremely accomplished and witty writter, she makes you laugh in one article and cry the next. Her strong character shines through as she battles with amongst others getting older and becoming blind. Formidable penmanship from quite a lady.

Nothing special
Probably it's nice to read a column by this author in Sainsbury's paper, but to read the whole book is too much -- this is just boring and even not entertaining (there are some witty bits though).

Subtly Addictive
Pick up this book of short essays (each being only about 800 words) and before you know it, 100 pages has gone by. Ranging from the hilarious (fending off a burglar using a biography of Tolstoy) to the heartbreaking (the treatment of the elderly in British hospitals), Sue Townsend manages to share titbits from her very interesting life in small, easily digestible portions.

First written as a monthly column for Sainsbury's Magazine, these pieces are slice-of-life affairs. Sue's battles with her expanding waistline, her diminishing eyesight and the ticking clock are covered here in touching and very funny detail. I found this book impossible to put down, yet it would be relatively easy to dip in and out of on a long train journey or a flight. Not demanding, surely, but very satisfying; sort of like a natter with a good friend.