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Diary of a Somebody

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Diary of a Somebody

By: Brian Bilston
Narrated by: Ben Miller
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About this listen

This audiobook is superbly performed by Ben Miller.

Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award.


'Glorious. I will be astonished if I read a more original, more inventive or funnier novel this year.' - Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt

Part tender love story, part murder mystery, part hilarious description of a wasted life, and interspersed with some of the funniest poems about the mundane and the profound, Diary of a Somebody is a stunningly original novel from Twitter sensation, Brian Bilston.

It’s January 1st and Brian Bilston is convinced that this year, his New Year’s resolution will change his life. Every day for a year, he will write a poem. It’s quite simple.

Brian’s life certainly needs improving. His ex-wife has taken up with a new man, he seems to constantly disappoint his long-suffering son, and at work he is drowning in a sea of spreadsheets and management jargon. So poetry will be his salvation. But there is an obstacle in the form of Toby Salt, his arch nemesis at Poetry Club and rival suitor to Liz, Brian’s new poetic inspiration.

When Toby goes missing, just after the announcement of the publication of his first collection, This Bridge No Hands Shall Cleave, Brian becomes the number one suspect. If he is to regain his reputation and to have a chance of winning Liz, he must find out what has happened to Toby before it is too late.

**Brian's next book, How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside: An Alternative Guide to Writing and Enjoying Poetry, is available for pre-order now!**

Amateur Sleuths Cosy Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Mystery Fiction Witty Funny Feel-Good Comedy

Critic reviews

Glorious. I will be astonished if I read a more original, more inventive or funnier novel this year. (Adam Kay)
Nobody must find out about this unique gem, because I’m giving it to EVERYONE (Dawn French)
Achingly funny. Without doubt it should win next year's Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for the best comic novel, even if my own novel is in contention as well (Jonathan Coe)
If you like a) laughing or b) words which rhyme with each other, you will love Brian Bilston (Richard Osman)
Not since Victoria Wood has a writer squeezed so much hilarity from a biscuit.
How do I laugh at thee? Let me count the ways . . . If you like sub-Carry On puns, clever parodies of famous poems and Wittgensteinian meditations on language, you’ll love it
The midlife answer to Adrian Mole? It's a big comparison to make, in comic novel terms, but Brian Bilston - parodist and 'poet laureate of Twitter'- is worthy . . . Laugh. Cry. Cringe.
He has a knack for playing with language but his poems are accessible, witty and touching . . . In fact I rather regretted reading it over just a couple of days - it would have been better to take longer and saver it. (Kirsty McLuckie)
A welcome reminder of the joy to be had when you put yourself in the hands of someone who knows their way round both a joke and a bittersweet narrative . . . Funny and ingenious
In a similar way to Morrissey and John Cooper Clarke, [Bilston] has the ability to make the mundane both funny and beautiful – whether that's taking out the bins or procrastinating on Twitter . . . A must-read for anyone who is a fan of wordplay, puns, The Smiths and custard creams. (Dominic Kearney)
The English comic novel, whose death this year was announced prematurely, is actually alive, well and in the safe hands of Brian Bilston (Jonathan Coe)
Highly original, genuinely funny and clever, with a gentle humanity in between the lines. Brian Bilston should be Poet Laureate (John O'Farrell)
Bilston is the greatest English anti-hero of our time. His poems have delighted people on Twitter for several years, and now he's treated us to this brilliant novel . . . This book has everything you want from a comic novel . . . Brian Bilston is real. And I love him
The pseudonymous Brian Bilston turns the base metal of comic verse into gold . . . Imagine a mash-up of John Cooper Clarke, Ed Reardon’s Week and James Joyce, and you’re about halfway there . . . Bilston is a magician with words . . . Read this novel in short bursts, pausing to savour its individual brilliancies
Brian Bilston is bringing poetry to the masses . . . topical, witty, thoughtful
Brian Bilston is a laureate for our fractured times, a wordsmith who cares deeply about the impact his language makes as it dances before our eyes (Ian McMillan)
All stars
Most relevant
This is an amusing book stuffed full of very clever poetry. I found it got better and better after a slowish start.
The narration is excellent and I listened to it with great pleasure.

A very different listen

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I was amazed at how quickly I was
drawn into this brilliant book. It made me laugh and immediately share my favourite lines...it never goes in quite the expected direction! A must for anyone who loves cats, music and words.
Superbly performed by Ben Miller!!

Clever, funny, gentle

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It's ok, but the parody songs were annoying and painful and I had to fast forward them. It was obvious that Ben Miller was finding them cringey too.
I think it lacked real depth and humour. Occasionally it skirted around those things but then pulled back. I think this author rates himself more highly than he actually deserves. Questions at the end were unnecessary too.

Trying so hard to be diary of a nobody

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Whimsical and clever, and beautifully performed. Thank you both for the entertainment through my tea breaks.

Brilliant Brian

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very easy to read and laugh out loud funny at times! I struggled to stop listening.

very enjoyable

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