Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16301 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 380 pages

Observer
"In the pithy, hilarious conversations that dominate this book,
Homes brilliantly evokes the macrobiotic daze that infects Los Angeles"

Daily Telegraph
"This sharp-edged, soft-core satire on self-help cuts from event
to surreal event with cinematic clarity...

Sunday Telegraph
"Bitter-sweet LA morality tale... a witty picaresque novel"

Customer Reviews

As scrumptious as the donuts on the front
I bought this book, let's face it, because it was on '3 for 2' and it had donuts on the front. It sounded, moreover, as if sweet treats and the good life was going to be a predominant theme. A simplistic approach to a purchase - but as is so often the way, I turned out to have inadvertently picked up a real gem and future favourite.

This delicious book begins with Richard, a slightly whimsical middle-aged man, entirely cut off from the world in his little LA home bubble of muesli and trading stocks, going into hospital with sudden and excruciating pain through his whole body. On his way home at dawn, nothing apparently wrong with him, he stops on the spur of the moment at a donut shop in town where he meets Anhil, a down-to-earth man who has moved to LA to make donuts and become famous. Anhil's innocent logic and unfailing optimism quickly charm Richard and the reader, and the two become better and better friends as the novel wears on. The terrible pain has been a wakeup call for Richard to change his life - and realising that there is a sinkhole swallowing his house finally catapults him out into the LA life.

The reader cheers Richard on as his horizons widen. He meets the movie star next door and makes a friend in the process. He helps a crying woman in the grocery store and their lives entwine, both reaching for more and seeking to get back on their feet in their own ways. He rekindles his relationship with his family - his brother, his ex-wife and his teenage son. He becomes a local hero several times over for helping those in unlikely peril. He moves to Malibu while his house is teetering on the edge of destruction and opens up another channel of life, befriending his dishevelled neighbour and a beach-loving stray dog, and enrolling on retreats and gym courses to add more variety to his life. And all the while the hilarious Anhil is gleefully in the background, keeping his feet on the ground. Eventually the novel turns full circle, setting Richard in yet another impossibly bizarre situation, thus effectively highlighting how much he (and his attitude) has changed and how his life has fallen into place since the beginning.

This is a novel about grasping life with both hands, embracing people and opportunities, and becoming who you want to be rather than who people expect you to be. Although Richard has a lot of money to throw around, which perhaps dents its relevance to the reader a little, this is a sweet, funny, original and charming novel which gradually weaves its spell over the reader and may indeed save your life, if only a little donut-shaped piece of it...

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE A SWEET TOOTH DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ THIS NOVEL WITHOUT A SUPPLY OF DONUTS AND COFFEE TO HAND!

Have I missed the point?
I'll be honest, I think I may have missed the point of this book.

After seeing all of the massive hype surrounding this title I thought it would be a little more entertaining. What I discovered was a book about an entirely irratating main Character (Novak) and some unbelievable support acts.

The story basically seems to be one of the main character trying to find happiness by spending lots of money (buying people cars, buying a donut shop, going on escape holidays etc). He encounters lots of really bizarre and random events that seem all a bit surreal.

He becomes really good friends with a housewife and you expect them to have some kind of romance, but they don't. She drops everything (leaving her kids and husband wondering where she is), it seems a little selfish (although this may be the whole point).

I found the writing style a little annoying because it seemed like a series of short descriptions and lists rather than flowing sentances.

There we go rant over. I think maybe the book was a little too clever for me because to be honest I prefer reading something that has a clever story rather than being 'ironic'. I found it a bit dull most of the time. It is readable but I wouldn't really recommend it.

This Book Will Save Your Life
Another book that sat unread on my shelf for a considerable amount of time! The book must have appealed to me in some way or I wouldn't have bought it, but I kept putting off reading it as I wasn't sure what to expect. As it turned out, I really enyoyed it and found it very engaging from the start. It is certainly surreal at times, a bit like Douglas Coupland, or maybe even some of Ben Elton's work. Richard goes from one strange experience to another, picking up new friends as he goes, whilst spreading good cheer (and quite a bit of money). Not sure if it is life changing, but it is a very good read nevertheless.