The Understudy [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

David Nicholls (Author), Tristan Layton (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2005

Steve C. McQueen (not that other Steve McQueen) is waiting--and waiting--for his big break. His only screen credits are playing dead bodies on cop and doctor shows, and now he's paying the rent by understudying movie sex symbol Josh Harper, who's trying to gain dramatic credibility in a West End play. If only Josh would miss a performance, Stephen could get his big break, prove his talent, and redeem himself in the eyes of his disapproving ex-wife and their precocious seven-year-old daughter. Stephen gets his chance when he stumbles on a secret that puts Josh in his debt. It's an extremely sticky situation, made all the stickier by Stephen's growing relationship with Josh's wife. Stephen is about to discover how good an actor he really is.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Nicholls's wry romantic comedy about down-on-his-luck actor Stephen McQueen receives a royal audio treatment, complete with mood-setting music and Layton's seamless narration. With chameleon-like grace, Layton slips easily among the characters, from Stephen's genial, unremarkable British accent to the slippery suave tones of Josh Harper, whom Stephen understudies, and the flat American accent of Josh's smart, self-deprecating wife, Nora. Both narrator and music succeed in conveying Stephen's desperation at being 32, with a small number of bit parts to his credit and only one broken leg away from stepping into Josh's shoes as leading man. Convinced that all he needs is that single opportunity to turn his fortune around, Stephen makes a pact with Josh to help him deceive his wife about his extramarital liaisons, an agreement that slowly dissolves under the weight of Stephen's growing affection for Nora. An understated success, this audiobook is full of quiet but powerful realizations about life, love and the stark difference between reality and movie reality. There are moments where listeners will recognize the genius of this audio's orchestration, such as when Nicholls describes the enthusiasm of Stephen's daughter ebbing away like a wind-up toy running out of steam, and strains of a wind-up music box can be heard in the background.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The follow-up to Nicholls' hilarious debut novel, A Question of Attraction (2003), is a smart, funny, bighearted romantic comedy. Struggling British actor Stephen McQueen is fast approaching his midthirties with nary a smidgen of the success of his namesake, a leading factor in the breakup of his marriage. His most lucrative gig required him to dress up as a squirrel. Now he is the understudy for the "twelfth sexiest man alive," action-film star Josh Harper, who is trying to shore up his acting cachet by doing a stint as Lord Byron in a West End play. Despite his stunning good looks and enviable success, Josh has trouble holding up his end in a conversation that does not revolve around teeth whitening; his wife, Nora, however, is a completely different story: warm, witty, and self-deprecating. Nicholls expertly mines his rich premise for all it's worth, hilariously riffing on fame, vanity, and the actor's lot. What raises his material far above standard-issue light comedy, though, is the way Nichols always seeds his polished banter with deeper emotional issues. The sometimes tender, sometimes painful scenes between Stephen and his seven-year-old daughter, especially, are achingly authentic. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HighBridge Company; Unabridged edition (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565119878
• ISBN-13: 978-1565119871
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,396,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Funny; Not Quite Romantic, August 10, 2007

By 

Middle-aged Professor (NY'er living in Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Understudy: A Novel (Paperback)

I'm a fan of British humor and enjoy comic romances, so I had high hopes for this book. It comes up a little bit -- but a decisive bit -- short.

The book has a promising start, our hero, Stephen McQueen (with a ph), is a struggling actor whose specialty is playing dead bodies in television police dramas. That sounds like a funny starting point, right? Well, that's the high point. His subsequent struggles, both romantic and professional, are more pathetic than funny, and more boring than either. One after another the book sets up (admittedly with considerable skill) potentially funny or redeeming scenes--the party thrown by the star he is understudying, visits with his ex-wife, the star's wife, his daughter, his agent, acting jobs as a Squirrel, and so forth. Each time, the set up is unavailing--the humor is just short of funny and the positive change or transformative event in the hero's life so necessary to such a story falls just short of happening. The book and its ultimately unappealing hero just keep plodding along. Ultimately I felt like Charlie Brown, with the author playing Lucy--holding out the football of the conventions of a comic romance, then pulling them away at the last second. Spare yourself.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars C'mon America--READ THIS GUY!, January 9, 2007

By 

E. Henry "deedster1" (Puyallup, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Understudy: A Novel (Hardcover)

It's too bad that Mr. Nicholls is virtually unknown on this side of the Atlantic. His first novel, "A Question of Attraction," ("Starter for Ten" in Europe) is arguably the funniest novel I've ever read. This second effort reveals that he has not broken his funny bone. "The Understudy" is the story of Stephen McQueen (don't mistake him for THE Steve McQueen), a hapless underemployed actor who dreams of his "big break" while playing second fiddle to one of England's up-and-coming stage actors. His side job as Sammy the Squirrel in children's films is hilarious, as is his bumbling attempt to maintain a presence in the life of his young daughter. Not quite the guffaws of his first novel, but certainly some robust giggles here. Bring on his next work!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Escapism, November 12, 2005

By 

Sidney Rosenberg "Sidney-r" (Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Understudy: A Novel (Hardcover)

One should always have a book by David Nicholls handy as the perfect escapism into some poor soul's worst social orientated faux pas nightmares all come true. If nothing else it gives one a sense of perspective regarding one's own personal hang-ups. Well this novel is a highly enjoyable read and the writing is in David Nicholls usual scintillating style with lots of laughs along the way. It also kept me up all night as it presents so many dilemmas for the protagonist that I couldn't put the book down until I got to the end to find out how and if he survives them all.
A drawback to this novel to my mind is that the misery is laid on so thick and fast for Stephen the protagonist that one craves a little light relief for him and for ourselves too who are caught up in his problems. Also, on one hand Stephen arouses sympathy but on the other his stupidity is exasperatingly annoying; and then his positive traits of character seem out of kilter with his irrationality which is confusing. However, this fault might lay with this particular reader. But the end ... Well Mr. Nicholls, you write so well that I will read anything you get into print again in the future because your writing is so very attractive, enjoyable and colorful - but that end. No, it didn't do it, for me at least. There was no hope - not even a teeny-weenie little bit of salvation. One knows that things are going to continue as before for Stephen with a ph and the reader so desperately wants an unrealistic final. You could have given us a little bit of hope in the way of some unadulterated schmaltz. But again this is personal and you still deserve 5 stars and more for a wonderful read and for making me care. Thanks!