Time for Bed [Hardcover]

DAVID BADDIEL (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: LITTLE BROWN (1998)
• ISBN-10: 0316876712
• ISBN-13: 978-0316876711
• ASIN: B000S9H0HY
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes he's tried Kalms!, July 3, 2000

By 

Steve Maggs - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time for Bed Hb (Hardcover)

This book marks the debut for a man better known in England for stand up comedy than literature, but whilst I rarely stopped laughing this is also a fantastic story.

The central character has a big problem with sleep, he can't get any! That he is also madly in love with his brothers wife, has a mentally deteriorating flat mate and a hate/hate relationship with his father is just half the brilliance of this storming book. The problems and excellent comic scenarios just keep flowing as you're drawn further into the eccentric and sordid world and mind of the sleepless hero. The characterisation is just superb and there are enough twists to make you think in between the laughing. One thing that I've never experienced in another book is the amazing empathy I felt for this guy who seems to have lived alongside me for most of my life, if not then this is the most accurate portrayal of the male mind this side of Nick Hornby (possibly even better).

All in all this is a laugh out loud funny book that also made me look deeply at myself (whilst still laughing), and with the story lines that eminate from within almost made me cry too. To top it off a genuinely satisfying ending that couldn't have been written better.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time for Bed, August 18, 2000

By 

Robert Weiss (Düsseldorf Deutschland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time for Bed Hb (Hardcover)

This book is one of the most entertaining ones I have ever red. I forced myself to stop reading it toward the end, so it wouldn't be over too fast.

Not only is the eccentric, outrages, insane behavior of the protagonist (an unemployed insomniac, in love with his brother's wife) tremendously funny, it also tells the truth about many issues the sensitive, out-of-the-ordinary individual of our times has to cope with. Though he is essentially obnoxious, rude and careless, one from the beginning sides with this young man. His apparently negative qualities are what keep him from spreading a pessimistic, resignative tone, however discouraged he seems at times. He knows to see the irony and, hence, the comedy of even the most desperate situation - a lesson we all should learn.

As absurd his surroundings and demenour may be, the book depicts a more accurate image of life than many others - for life is in itself nothing if not absurd.

5.0 out of 5 stars Most impressed, January 25, 2001

By 

Tiffany (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time for Bed Hb (Hardcover)

For want of a good book, I had not read for a while, when a friend found this for me it was the end of early nights! I wish I too was an insomniac, therefore giving me more waking hours to read this book. It reminded me of "he died with a felafel in his hand". Probably the dry sense of humour. With or without sleep deprivation issues, I thouroughly recommend!