11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Living with people makes life interesting..., April 25, 2000
By A Customer
I picked up this hilarious book while travelling in Australia and it made a truly wonderful literary companion to the trip. Birmingham's comically detailed and slightly skewed vignettes from his days as a "flatmate" are a riot to read regardless of their basis in fiction. The book begins with a story of a mysterious drug addict flatmate that was found dead with a falafel in hand and it just gets funnier from there. Birmingham's tone and joie de vivre makes for an enjoyable read. Because of the nature of the vignettes, reading this book in small doses is a great way to pass the time while waiting for the plane, or bus, or ferry, or just killing time between adventures. If you've ever lived with someone that was a less than desirable roomate/flatmate, you will undoubtedly enjoy Birmingham's twisted experiences and witty prose.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He [really] died with a felafel in his hand -non fiction art, October 15, 2003
This book is somewhat astounding... I found it a few years ago in the non-fiction section of our local library, and I thought it was wonderful! It's not a novel, but it's writing style is a lot like one!
With a funny spin on life and emphasizing immense differences between people, John Birmingham details his share house experiences from right across Australia, with tales about the lives of other individuals. And the people he talks about are certainly individuals, with lives that are so different to what you thought was normal...
A lot of people would find this strange, but my teacher got our class to read an exerpt of this book as part of our year 9 classwork! It's a very honest look at group houses, I think is what she told us. This was about the same time that the movie came out, a couple of years ago.
Written with flair and in such a way that each paragraph could be a new chapter, this book fascinates, and finds a new perspective for an everyday part of life for young people across Australia. Hilarious, and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel (actually I read this a while ago and haven't been bothered to look much... but I am VERY keen to find the The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco, and writing this review has reminded me how keen!)
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't leave home without (reading) this book!, July 23, 2001
This is a fascinating descent into the lives of people who share houses. Most of the people have different ideas about cleanliness, or ownership, of relationships. Many of the stories are hilarious and disturbing at the same time. I don't recommend eating while reading (parts of) this book though.
This has been made into a stage show and movie (which is being released soon). The book has a sequel called The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco.
It's very light reading, very revealing and funny, and not for those easily shocked (if you get to the end and you're not just a LITTLE bit shocked, I'd worry though). Highly recommended
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