Product Description

A hilarious, original story for anyone who has ever been dumped, dumped or lived in a dump - with the cross-over and bestselling appeal of BRIDGET JONES, HIGH FIDELITY and THIS LIFE.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19386 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ever been dumped? No? You're lying. Mike Gayle, previously a contributor to FHM and Just Seventeen magazines has dipped his pen in the inkpot of universal experience and written a comic novel underpinned by rejection and the ripples (or tidal waves) it continues to produce for years afterwards. For exactly three years afterwards in the case of Will Kelly, assigned to the "history" drawer on his 23rd birthday by Aggi, (she of the titular moniker) and who is now undergoing his 26th "celebration" alone in his bedsit in Archway, North London.

English teacher, serial smoker and serious list-maker--Will is a Numnul, to quote Gayle; a "New Nineties New Man New Lad", living an existence that screams "Single!". Can you fall in love over the telephone with someone you've never met? Should your best friend sleep with your girlfriend? And just how many presents should a platonic friend send you on your birthday? In real time the novel takes place over a weekend, but in effect it traces a journey that has led to this tumultuous birthday, when Will considers marriage, death, fatherhood and Pot Noodles (but not in that order).

Helen Fielding and Nick Hornby are two names that will understandably haunt Mike Gayle, whose prescriptive hero has been dubbed the "male Bridget Jones", but Gayle's book probably owes more to early Martin Amis, soaked as it is in a fever of male self-pity redolent of The Rachel Papers or Success, though without the literary flourishes or darkness. Ultimately My Legendary Girlfriend is pulp fiction for the Pulp generation, an old-fashioned morality tale dressed up as an enjoyable romp that should appeal to lovers of Men Behaving Badly and anyone who has suffered the ignominy of having a Sting song quoted at them to justify a break-up.--David Vincent

Mirror
‘Comic...fizzy. Here comes the male Bridget Jones’

Review
‘Comic...fizzy. Here comes the male Bridget Jones’ (Mirror )

'Full of belly-laughs and painfully acute observations' (Independent on Sunday )

'Touching and funny' (Mirror )

Customer Reviews

On and on and on
There are very few books that I have not finished - i see it as similarly impolite to walking out of a play. But I'm afraid that I did not finish this book. The whingeing of the main character just went on far too long for me. Plus you have to believe the premise that anyone would be interested in listening to someone who they had never met going on about a girl who had dumped him years ago. No chance! I constantly wanted to scream 'Grow a spine!' at the main character. You would walk swiftly away from this guy if you met him at a party and half way through this book, that's what I decided to do. Life's too short.

A great piece of light reading to enjoy
Mike Gayle debut novel "My Legendary Girlfriend" is a light piece of reading to really enjoy. The principal theme underlying this novel is about relationships related to life of the twenty something age range.

The main focus point is about an English school teacher Will's life in terms of career and personal life, which is narratted into a romantic tale. Will's world is shattered by the fact he has been cruelly dumped by his legandary girlfriend and struggled to accept the situation. He leads a lonely life with only a few friends offering him support. The key question who are his genuine friends and ones who betray his trust. That is the gist of the story.

Mike Gayle comparison to Bridget Jones is justified. He is a great writer within the romantic genre. This is really a surprise with a male writer. He has proved vast experience within the area, with the fact of being a former agony aunt. His novel My Legendary Girlfriend is written truly from a male perspective. A great piece of light reading to really absorb into. From this novel, you learn the up's and down of life, but observe the funny side of life.

The novel is suited for nice and simple reading.

'Hard work' review (below) was right...
Agree totally with 'manwithnoname's review below - I don't like to be negative either but I read this book a few years ago on holiday and because it was my first Mike Gayle, I've avoided him ever since.

It was a big long whinge... I read right to the end out of sheer pig-headedness, but it didn't improve.

I can't recommend this book, but he seems very popular, so his other stuff must be worth a go?