Product Description

When the young Ian Wharton first meets Mr Broadhurst, he is completely unaware of the influence he will come to exert over his life as ' The Fat Controller' - a constant companion and confidant and also the obese, erudite manifestation of Ian' s mental illness. As Ian' s idea of fun becomes increasingly extreme, the reader is taken to a place where morality is eroded by the dull grind of modernity and everything becomes admissable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96603 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
'This is a brilliant first novel, obscene, funny, opulently written, and, of course, agonisingly moral' Observer 'No one else I can think of writes about contemporary Britain with such elan, energy and witty intelligence. Rejoice' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian 'Written with diabolical gusto and skill' Evening Standard 'Vastly entertaining' The Times

Nicholas Lezard, Guardian
‘No one else I can think of writes about contemporary Britain with such elan, energy and witty intelligence. Rejoice’

Evening Standard
‘Written with diabolical gusto and skill’

Customer Reviews

Go along with it...
It was hard for me not to be impressed by this book. Stunning characterisation, especially in that of the tales anti hero, The Fat Controller, who I found to be one of the most amusing characters I have ever come across. Certainly not for the faint hearted or those that find a disparate plot hard to cope with. I thought it was just a very clever novel so full of new ideas, great humour and style. Go along with it, why don't you? It's definitely worth it.

Not everyone's idea of fun
Will Self's debut novel is a strange and phantasmagorical tale from the perspective of a man with an eidetic memory, whose very will and imagination can shape and bend the world, whose 'idea of fun' is to inflict physical and sexual violence on other human beings. Growing up under the guidance of the mysterious 'Fat Controller', Ian, the central character, leads a disturbed (and disturbing) life which stumbles towards self-knowledge. 'My Idea of Fun' is dense with ideas, which are explored with Self's typical wit, irony and incision, and is particularly impressive as a debut. There are those who will dislike the frank and graphic way Self deals with sex and violence, themes that recur in most of his work, and those who will be disappointed by the almost unfinished nature of his plotting, which at times is very bizarre and often quite disturbing. Self unabashedly sets out to shock placid, middle-class sensibilities and 'My Idea' certainly does that. If you can set the shock value aside, there are insights aplenty to be had into the human condition and the nature of our destructive urges (which, apparently only our placid sensibilities hold in check). 'My Idea' will challenge even the most open-minded reader in a variety of ways, and so fulfils one of the basic purposes of art - but whilst it is an easy book to appreciate, it is a difficult book to enjoy.

Brief review (because there is no review)
I've read several Will Self books but this takes the biscuit in the "disturbing" stakes. It is a disturbing book and I was disturbed throughout reading it. However, it was also impossible to put down, I read it in two sittings - which is very, very rare for me.

Though I did enjoy reading it, I found, after finishing, that I was none the wiser. I think I know what happened, but can't be sure.

It's, as all Self are, extremely well written. But I don't know if, after a few months, I'll be left with anything... I'm not sure it'll be a memorable book. I don't think that'd be a good thing. Maybe four stars is a little too kind.

Thinking about it now, it's a bit like chinese food... half hour after you've finished you want another one; it's not as satisfying as it could be but it's very enjoyable at the time.