Product Description

Gabriel Jacoby can't get to sleep. In fact, he can't get anywhere at all, either in his Triumph Dolomite or his life. Everything around him, from his large collection of coffee-machines to his balding Bradford-born flatmate, is breaking down. Not that Gabriel is bothered; he's too busy being in love with his intensely happily married brother's wife. Which is why Gabriel chooses to waste all his time - because he knows that whatever else he might achieve, it won't be happiness. There's no way there, when you're in love with your brother's wife. Unless you remember your brother's wife has a sister...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139751 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 277 pages

Review
'Very, very funny, but it also manages to stay on the right side of realistic... I thought the book was terrific.' Roddy Doyle 'A sharp, funny and hugely entertaining insight into the male psyche with the most convincing female orgasm since "When Harry Met Sally"' Helen Fielding 'One of the best things I have ever read about the nature of mad, obsessive love... funny, sad and horribly, painfully true.' Tony Parsons 'Inventive and hilarious... a wonderful comedy shadowed and complicated by tenderness.' SUNDAY TIMES 'A blisteringly funny and astonishingly well-executed novel.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Simultaneously hilarious and desperately poignant... it made me laugh out loud.' THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Imagine an episode of "Men Behaving Badly" written in the form of early Philip Roth and you get some impression of this confident debut by David Baddiel.' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Consistently funny and well-written.' SUNDAY TIMES 'David Baddiel has written a wickedly funny book, the perfect bedside companion for restless nights. It won't cure insomnia, but it will send you to sleep smiling.' COSMOPOLITAN 'Entertaining and enjoyable... the lyrical side of laddism.' TLS 'Laughing out- loud funny... and his characterisation is impressive- especially in his three principle females, which makes a change for any male debutant, celebrity or not.' TIME OUT 'A very funny novel with brilliant gags and situations, digested expertly into a well-rounded plot, spring-loaded with unexpected reversals and surprises.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'A splendid maiden novel that has found its way to the top of the book charts in the first week of publication... an essential purchase.' GLASGOW HERALD 'Funny, well-paced and with a sharp eye for the truth about lust.' SUNDAY MIRROR 'This is a rare thing, a seriously funny, laugh-out-loud novel. Genuinely engaging.' TATLER

Helen Fielding
'A sharp, funny and hugely entertaining insight into the male psyche'

About the Author
David Baddiel co-created three of the most popular comedy programmes in BBC TV history and his stand-up comedy act is always a sell-out nationwide.

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly brilliant
I have just been reading some of the very mixed reviews for this book, and just felt that I had to comment. Like another reader I bought this book because I loved his stand-up comedy, but had no idea what to expect from the book. Having also read a fair amount of Tony Parsons and Nick Hornby's work, I can honestly say that David Baddiel is on a par with, if not sometimes better than the other two.
His observations are so adept it can be quite scary, plus he manages to combine vulgar humour with some quite heart-wrenchingly touching moments. I also found it quite endearing that Baddiel's own life was so visible through the plot- it meant the whole book felt both honest and personal.

I would recommend that anyone gave this book a try- if only to enjoy the many 'laugh-out-loud' moments.

Thought-Provoking
When I picked up the book and read that the author was David Baddiel the word comedy entered my mind. I chose the book as I thought that it would be a very light hearted one liner kind of tale that would pass the minutes on the train. I was fortunately very wrong. Although this book is funny, it is written in a very dry ironic style, it makes you think. The story line is involved with twists that keep making you turn the pages.

The novel revolves around mainly Gabriel (the main characters) lust for his brother's wife. In fact the word lust is an understatement, the guy eat breaths and dreams the woman. Well actually he does not dream the woman as he can't. He is an insomniac, hence the book's title 'Time for Bed'. These feelings are made more complicated when the woman of his desires(Alice) announces that her sister is comming to stay with her from America. Gabriels dream to find his own 'Alice' are made more hopeful and twists and turns of their unsual relationship is at times both funny and sad.

Baddiel deals with jewish religion with such zest that it would make Woody Allen smile. Although there is no doubt that the male writting this novel would put 'Men Behaving Badly`s' Neil Morrisey and Martin Clunes to shame on the subject of football and pornography there are some very touching sentiment towards relationships and desires.

This book is a joy to read and will leave you wanting to know more....!

From one insomniac to another
I read this book after reading Baddiel's second novel, 'Whatever Love Means' and was expecting the same idea all over again: tragedy, comedy, death, sex and lots of twists and turns, and I got it. I was really surprised at the style of 'Time for Bed' as it's very different to his second novel, but it's a book which delivers. I was impressed by Baddiel's knowledge of insomnia and unrequited love, both of which I have suffered from, and also by his ability to take the utterly mundane and make it interesting, funny and touching. Brilliant.