Sunday 18 March 2007

Book ~ "Brand New Friend" - Mike Gayle (2005)

From Goodreads ~ When Rob's girlfriend asks him to leave London and live with her in Manchester, not only will it mean moving cities, it'll also mean leaving behind his best mate in the entire world. Believing that love conquers all and convinced of his ability to make new friends, Rob takes the plunge. 

Six months in, and yet to find so much as a regular drinking buddy, Rob realises that sometimes making friends in your thirties can be the hardest thing to do. 

With drastic action needed, his girlfriend puts an ad in the classifieds for him. Three excruciatingly embarrassing "bloke dates" later, Rob begins to truly despair. Until his luck changes ... there's just one problem. Apart from knowing less than nothing about music trivia, football, and the vital statistics of supermodels, Rob's new friend, Jo, has one huge flaw ... she's a girl.

This is the third novel I've read by Mike Gayle and I enjoyed it. It was an interesting topic to focus on. I just assumed guys found it easy to make new friends.

What did I like about it? I enjoyed the writing style. It's conversational ... funny at times. I liked the short chunky chapters. I'm happy it ended the way it did ... it could have gone one of two ways. And there were a few opportunities to tidy things up but Gayle didn't go there.

What didn't I like about it? I didn't feel anything for Ashley, Rob's girlfriend. Perhaps that's understandable considering it was written from Rob's point of view. And there were times when Jo seemed very weak and stupid.

Would I recommend it? Yes.

7 comments:

B said...

Girl how fast do you read! your going through books like crazy.

Anonymous said...

this one looks good! my niece reads alot, i'll have to ask her if she's read this one.
and no, i haven't received my cheque yet, but now i'll start looking for it this week. i've got a HUGE purchase lined up, roll up and win timmies!

RennyBA said...

It's always great to read your book revenues - always makes me curious about the books you read - thanks for sharing!
Btw: Thanks for joining our Cyber Cruise - it was great to have you visit Oslo last night:-)

Jay said...

I love finding an author who writes consistently.

Jaysey said...

That is interesting. I, too, just assumed making friends was easier for men, or that they didn't care as much about making friends.

Carmen said...

I wrote that one down, I'll have to add it to the list.

It is harder in your 30s to make friends.

Anonymous said...

I need a new author; I'll check him out at the library today. Thanks!