Okay, so biting the bullet on my next couple of reviews because I’m behind and don’t want to get even further behind by being paralyzed about what to say.
Bottom line about One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (which is apparently named after a Robbie Williams song–thanks, Kat!): super fun spoof of action films in book form. Great characters even though they could have been flimsy. Very funny. Features dialogue written in the Scottish dialect, which I thought was really fun (but then again, I never seem to have a problem interpreting accents in books or movies). Never read anything like it before. Really wish it was a movie.
There, that’s the gist of my thoughts.
I actually received my copy of this as part of the first annual Cannonball Read Book exchange a couple of Christmases ago. And my book came to me all the way from Austria! I’ve felt bad that I couldn’t get to it before now, and I’m glad that I enjoyed it when I did. The story of a class reunion happening on a decked out oil rig was the absolute perfect setting. Having not one, but two characters who became famous (or infamous) come back to the reunion as a sort of self-evaluation was really satisfying. The twists were fun. The character who was obsessed with action movies was useful and delightful. The book satisfied my need for tropes to be fulfilled, and yet also surprised me by turning some on their heads and poking fun at them. It’s very Scottish, also.
If you can stomach violence and swearing, you should definitely check this book out. It’s a quick read, and it’s really fun. I will definitely be reading more books by Christopher Brookmyre (and hopefully those books will get better reviews than this one did).
I’m so glad you liked this. I knew that you would.
His Jack Parlabane books are a delight. But I worship his Angelique de Xavia books. I want to be her when I grow up.
Also, I feel now is as good a time as any to listen to some Robbie Williams. So thanks for that.
You’re welcome!