The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
Review of the comedian's first novel
23/11/2022 … It’s an instant bestseller, thanks to the celebrity of its author, but The Satsuma Complex is also a cracking page-turner, shot through with Bob Mortimer’s…
Latest Books
Reviews of books about comedy, including biographies of comedians old and new, and (occasionally) books by comedians. To have a book considered for review, send a copy to Chortle, 112 Norman Road, London, E11 4RL.
Wed 23 November 2022
Tue 25 October 2022
The Black Dog
Review of Kevin Bridges' debut novel
25/10/2022 … In Kevin Bridges’ debut novel, The Black Dog is the name of a restaurant, though more famously – and more pertinently – it was the nickname Winston…
Thu 13 October 2022
Lenny Henry: Rising To The Surface
Review of the second volume of the comedian's memoirs
13/10/2022 … Lenny Henry’s first biography, Who Am I Again? was a cracking read: a social history of a Jamaican immigrant family in a Britain that rarely made them…
Mon 12 September 2022
Meantime, by Frankie Boyle
Review of the comedians first crime novel
12/09/2022 … Frankie Boyle’s debut novel is no celebrity cash-in but an evocative – if sometimes messy – detective story set in Glasgow’s underclass,…
Tue 02 August 2022
I'll Die After Bingo by Pope Lonergan
Review of comedian's book about working on the front line of social care
02/08/2022 … For marketing purposes, Pope Lonergan’s book has, not unreasonably, been bracketed with Adam Kay’s publishing phenomenon, This Is Going To Hurt.
Mon 27 June 2022
Sex Bomb by Sadia Azmat
The Lives And Loves Of An Asian Babe: A Memoir
27/06/2022 … Few aspects of life come laden with as much cultural baggage as sex and sexuality, with all its mores and taboos hardwired into the society in which you grew up.
Wed 15 June 2022
With All Jew Respect
15/06/2022 … Sloppy, dull and facile, this lazy cut-and-paste job is quite the worst book about comedy to come out for some time.
Wed 22 December 2021
Before & Laughter by Jimmy Carr and 8 Deaths by Mark Watson
Two comedians' self-help memoirs reviewed
22/12/2021 … It’s a cliché that stand-up is therapy for the comedian.