Part-memoir, part call-to-arms, How Not to Be a Boy takes the rule-book of being a man and puts it through the shredder. Both hilarious and moving, it’s an important book that feels long overdue.
Rules for being a man:
But Robert Webb has been wondering for some time now: are those rules actually any use? To anyone?
Looking back over his life, from schoolboy crushes (on girls and boys) to discovering the power of making people laugh (in the Cambridge Footlights with David Mitchell), and from losing his beloved mother to becoming a husband and father, Robert Webb considers the absurd expectations boys and men have thrust upon them at every stage of life.
Hilarious and heartbreaking, How Not To Be a Boy explores the relationships that made Robert who he is as a man, the lessons we learn as sons and daughters, and the understanding that sometimes you aren't the Luke Skywalker of your life - you're actually Darth Vader.
'Quite simply brilliant. I (genuinely) cried. I (genuinely) laughed out loud. It’s profound, touching, personal yet universal … I loved it.' - J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 9781786890115
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 249 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 21 mm
Edition: Main
Quite simply brilliant. I (genuinely) cried. I (genuinely) laughed out loud. It's profound, touching, personal yet universal . . . I loved it - J.K. ROWLING
With enormous poignancy and insight . . . Webb's early portrait of himself as a hapless underdog navigating the boulder-strewn path of masculinity is vividly drawn and very funny . . . Echoes of Adrian Mole - Guardian
Takes us deftly from hilarity to heart-stopping hurt . . . A truly great read, full of heart - DAWN FRENCH
Frank and compelling . . . Laugh-out-loud funny . . . also, in parts, blink-back-tears sad. Why would I blink back tears rather than give full rein to the emotion? Well, Webb can explain - Mail on Sunday
Written with wit and clarity, How Not To Be a Boy is a funny, rueful, truthful book. I enjoyed every page - STEPHEN FRY
A brilliant telling of a sad story, it is also a manifesto for a change in attitudes . . . I laughed innumerable times and cried twice . . . You should give a copy to any young male you care about - S Magazine, Sunday Express
A witty, honest coming-of-age story with a subtext that tackles masculinity and manhood. Webb has a storytelling skill many would kill for - IAN RANKIN
Funny, poignant, revealing - Daily Telegraph
Simply brilliant - JOANNA LUMLEY
Funny and wonderful and necessary - SARAH MILLICAN
I listened to this when it was the book of the week on Radio 4. I would thoroughly recommend it and have ordered copies for my sons. Robert Webb gives a wonderful, brilliantly funny and moving account of his... More
I cannot at this time write a review as I'm still reading this book. What I can say, is this book is both funny and sad all at the same time!
I can only give a 3 star rating as I'm still reading. Hopefully...
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Gives us a terrific insight into the making of a young man; not a book to read on public transport though, as you may be overtaken at any moment by belly laughs or tears of sympathy.
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