Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing by Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse is an absolute "clonker" of a book. Having been friends for 30 years, these two comedians became ill with serious heart conditions within a short space of time of each other. Paul, a lifelong angler, persuaded Bob to go fishing with him to aid their recovery. This spawned a TV programme that follows the two friends as they go fishing in the glorious British countryside (and beyond!) and discuss life, food, health and anything that takes their fancy. So successful has the TV series been that it spawned this book, which is a great companion piece. Full of humour and bonhomie, the reader is treated to practical fishing information - fish species, rivers, equipment - as well as insights into the lives of Bob and Paul as they chat and philosophise by the riverbank, over food or even the odd pint. I chose to read the audio edition, which I would urge everyone to do - it's absolutely hilarious listening to Bob and Paul who tease and giggle their way through it, throwing in little asides that I'm pretty sure are not in the print edition! They make you feel like you could be their friend too, and I for one, am longing to go fishing with them and enjoy peace and tranquility in the middle of nature (except for when Bob falls over), all interspersed with heart-healthy conversation and pure silliness. It's a long time since I laughed out loud at a book, but this one got me quite a few times ... not very helpful when you often use an audio book to help you go to sleep! This isn't high literature, but that's not what's important here. I just know that when I need a pick-me-up in these dark times, I will revisit this audio book for a life-affirming experience, in fact, I'm having to stop myself from putting it on again as we speak.
My STAR rating: FIVE (no surprise there!)
Length: 352 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.98.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; audio CD; ebook.
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