Free shipping on orders over $99
The Full Ridiculous

The Full Ridiculous 4

by Mark Lamprell
Paperback
Publication Date: 25/09/2013
4/5 Rating 4 Reviews

Share This Book:

RRP  $29.99

RRP means 'Recommended Retail Price' and is the price our supplier recommends to retailers that the product be offered for sale. It does not necessarily mean the product has been offered or sold at the RRP by us or anyone else.

$28.75
Michael O'Dell is hit by a car. When he doesn't die, he is surprised and pleased. But he can't seem to move from the crash position. He can't concentrate, or control his anger and grief, or work out what to do about anything much. His wife Wendy is heroically supportive but his teenage children don't help his post-accident angst- daughter Rosie punches out a vindictive schoolmate and all hell breaks loose; son Declan is found with a stash of illicit drugs. A strange policeman starts harrassing the family and ordinary mishaps take on a sinister desperation. To top it all off, Michael's professional life starts to crumble. With this funny, compelling novel about love, family and the precarious business of being a man, Mark Lamprell's extraordinary debut examines the terrible truth- sometimes you can't pull yourself together until you've completely fallen apart. 'A lovely coming-of-age story about a middle-aged man who hurts, despairs, heals and comes to understanding. A very funny and truthful novel.' Kirkus Reviews
ISBN:
9781922147264
9781922147264
Category:
Contemporary fiction
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
25-09-2013
Language:
English
Publisher:
Text Publishing
Country of origin:
Australia
Pages:
250
Dimensions (mm):
234x153x19mm
Weight:
0.35kg
Mark Lamprell

Mark Lamprell is a writer of novels and children's books published in sixteen countries and twelve languages, including the novels The Full Ridiculous and A Lover's Guide to Rome. He also works internationally as a writer and director in film, with movie credits including Babe Pig in the City, My Mother Frank, Goddess, A Few Less Men and Never Too Late.

This title is in stock with our Australian supplier and should arrive at our Sydney warehouse within 1-2 weeks of you placing an order.

Once received into our warehouse we will despatch it to you with a Shipping Notification which includes online tracking.

Please check the estimated delivery times below for your region, for after your order is despatched from our warehouse:

ACT Metro 2 working days

NSW Metro 2 working days 

NSW Rural 2-3 working days

NSW Remote 2-5 working days

NT Metro 3-6 working days

NT Remote 4-10 working days

QLD Metro 2-4 working days

QLD Rural 2-5 working days

QLD Remote 2-7 working days

SA Metro 2-5 working days

SA Rural 3-6 working days

SA Remote 3-7 working days

TAS Metro 3-6 working days

TAS Rural 3-6 working days

VIC Metro 2-3 working days

VIC Rural 2-4 working days

VIC Remote 2-5 working days

WA Metro 3-6 working days

WA Rural 4-8 working days

WA Remote 4-12 working days

You can find this item in:

Show more Show less

Reviews

4.0

Based on 4 reviews

5 Star
(0)
4 Star
(4)
3 Star
(0)
2 Star
(0)
1 Star
(0)

4 Reviews

Written in a very laid back style, The Full Ridiculous by Mark Lamprell tickled my funny bone. The story involves a family dealing with events that could very easily happen to anyone of us. Dads descent into darkness is convincing but it is never too far from humour.

The satellite characters I can recognise within my own family and so I did enjoy this book

Contains Spoilers No
Report Abuse

I enjoyed this novel very much. One of the main reasons was because all of the characters are flawed ... in their own special way. And this made the story seem incredibly real.


Contains Spoilers No
Report Abuse

While out jogging one morning, Michael O'Dell is hit by a car. As he's lying on the ground realising he's still alive, he has an epiphany. The universe, he feels, has spared him for a reason. The universe must have something marvellous in store for him.

It certainly does, but sadly for Michael, what the universe has in store for him is not something nice. In fact, it seems that the universe desires to repeatedly batter him (and his family) with one nasty event after another. Quite understandably, Michael is soon in the depths of depression.

The narrative is in second person which means the reader must put themselves in O'Dell's shoes ("you" are hit by a car, "your" life is going down the drain.) While this feels a little weird at first, I soon got used to it, and found being in Michaels head, so to speak, drew me further into his life. I identified with Michael's often laugh out loud funny self-depreciating humour, his apathy and sorrow, all that much more.

Although there are a lot of heartbreaking moments in this book and many serious issues raised, theres stacks of comedy (sometimes pretty black), mainly driven by Michaels internal observations. The balance of the two works well you may find yourself crying on one page, then laughing on the next. Or both at the same time.

With the help of his family, health and mental health professionals, and at the end of it even the universe doing something nice for a change, Michael pulls himself back together, with a greater appreciation of all the wonderful things in life, with those he loves right at the front. The message this book gives is that its alright to fall apart, and that in putting yourself back together you can become stronger, wiser, and more appreciative of the important things in life.

This is an impressive debut, and Id pick up and further books from Lamprell without hesitation.

Contains Spoilers No
Report Abuse
Read All Reviews