PoeticaL
cluttering the net since 2001

The Best a Man Can Get - John O'Farrell

Wednesday, Jun. 19, 2002
I�m currently reading �The Best a Man Can Get� by John O�Farell

If you�ve read �Bridget Jones Diary� or �Good in Bed� then you should get this book and read it. It�s great. It�s about a mid thirty-year-old father who is leading two lives. He tells his wife that he�s busy at work and really he�s at a flat with his friends doing absolutely nothing. This is his way of coping with the fact that he�s a father and has responsibilities. Nonetheless he leaves his wife Catherine to fend for their two children while he lays in bed with a fridge so close he doesn�t have to get up to get his morning cuppa tea.

Finally the lies and the fact that he�s lying, well it all gets to him. And while on the phone with her he tries in vain to confess.

�Are you ok?� she said, sensing that I sounded preoccupied.

�Fine�� And then suddenly it all just spilled out.

�Look, er, Catherine, erm, I�ve not been straight with you. We�re badly in debt and I�ve been deceiving you about how hard I�ve been working. Basically I�ve just been living it up here for the past couple of years while you�ve been struggling with the babies.�

There was a terrible silence. I waited for her to say something, but she didn�t, and so I grabbed to fill the void. �I know, but I�ve changed. I�m working really hard now, and I�m going to make it up to you, I promise.�

Still she had said nothing. I wished I could have said this to her face, to see how she was reacting; the silence was oppressive. It was so quiet I couldn�t even hear the crackle of the phone-I�d lost the signal; the mobile had cut off. I didn�t know whether she�d hung up in angry disgust or not heard a single word of what I�d said. My mobile suddenly rang again.

�Sorry� she said brightly. �Millie pressed the button down on the receiver. So you�re all right, are you?�
�Yeah, er, yeah, I�m fine,� I said, breathing an exhausted sigh of relief. �I�ll be back in time to see the kids tonight.�
�Great,� she said, �you just sounded a bit subdued.�
�Yeah, well I just wish I was there already.�
At least this wasn�t a lie.


wow do you think I can relate right now or what?? Let me just say some of the passages in this novel relating to �lying� are just so brilliant. My copy is all highlighted throughout.

here�s my letter I would write�.and mail�if I knew where in �bloody hell� to mail it to�.

Dear Mr. O�Farrell,

You are an amazing writer. This book has never lost my attention once. Not even once. Secondly, you surely have lied to someone before in your lifetime to understand the dimension of depth of what it does to you. I hope the repercussions did not destroy a good thing for you.

Secondly, I apologize for plagiarizing your words and putting them here without permission. Lets hope some more people buy your book because I did on a mere whim and I�m so glad! And lastly, thank you. For whatever reasons I picked your book up at a time in my life where I could relate so very much. I wish I had read it 5 years ago. I wouldn�t have lied up my own fictional mess then.

Lastly, the american cover (although all of the UK versions rock as well) of your book is just brilliant so can you tell whoever designed it, since I don�t know who they are.

Much thanks and best wishes.
Me

After further research regarding Mr. O�Farrell I have learned that he is much more well known in the UK and is actively involved in politics. He seems to write columns often for �The Guardian�

I shall now ask BraN if he knows of Mr. O�Farrell. As I doubt such a distinguished man would ever read my letter. Perhaps now I fear that he might sue my ass for typing out an excerpt of his book. (please keep in mind Mr. O�Farrell that I am freely promoting your book to thousands (ok maybe not thousands�) of Americans. If you are indeed retiring I do hope this is to continue your writing career further. As I greatly loved this novel.

But if you are a mere Internet stranger to me and were just out on the www doing a search for O�Farrell and found my entry, by all means mail me something from the UK will ya? Or email Mr. O�Farell and tell him I said �hi�have a nice day�

Wow�I just read somewhere that Mr. O�Farrell has a story featured in �Speaking with the Angel� I have that book on my bookshelf�as of yet�unread. I�m going to go finger it til I find some more John.

Uh�yeah�well if you�re John� thanks for writing 260 pages of fiction brilliance! I hope my flattery gets me somewhere�.don�t doubt it for a minute. If your not Mr. O�Farrell, go buy his book already. Didn�t I convince you yet?

-PoeticaL

�They say that honesty is the best policy. Well, that�s fine when the truth is all nice and lovely, then it�s easy to be honest. What if you�re the mystery second gunman in the Kennedy assassination? In that case, honesty is clearly not the best policy.

�So Frank, have you ever been to Dallas before?�

�Yes I came here once to shoot John F. Kennedy from behind the grassy knoll.�

The Best a Man Can Get � John O�Farrell
11:54 p.m. ::
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