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Starter for Ten
The year is 1985. Brian Jackson, a working-class kid on full scholarship, has started his first term at university. He has a dark secret—a long-held, burning ambition to appear on the wildly popular British TV quiz show University Challenge—and now, finally, it seems the dream is about to become reality. He's made the school team, and they've completed the qualifying rounds and are limbering up for their first televised match. (And, what's more, he's fallen head over heels for one of his teammates, the beautiful, brainy, and intimidatingly posh Alice Harbinson.) Life seems perfect and triumph inevitable—but as his world opens up, Brian learns that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
338 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
David Nicholls
35 books4,712 followersDavid Nicholls is a British author, screenwriter, and actor. A student of Toynbee Comprehensive school and Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, he Graduated from the University of Bristol having studied English Literature and Drama.
After graduation, he won a scholarship to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, before returning to London in 1991 and finally earning an Equity card. He worked sporadically as an actor for the next eight years, eventually earning a three year stint at the Royal National Theatre, followed by a job at BBC Radio Drama as a script reader/researcher. This led to script-editing jobs at London Weekend Television and Tiger Aspect Productions.
During this period, he began to write, developing an adaptation of Sam Shepard’s stage-play Simpatico with the director Matthew Warchus, an old friend from University. He also wrote his first original script, a situation comedy about frustrated waiters, Waiting, which was later optioned by the BBC.
Simpatico was turned into a feature film in 1999, and this allowed David to start writing full-time. He has been twice nominated for BAFTA awards and his first novel, Starter for Ten was featured on the first Richard and Judy Book Club.
After graduation, he won a scholarship to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, before returning to London in 1991 and finally earning an Equity card. He worked sporadically as an actor for the next eight years, eventually earning a three year stint at the Royal National Theatre, followed by a job at BBC Radio Drama as a script reader/researcher. This led to script-editing jobs at London Weekend Television and Tiger Aspect Productions.
During this period, he began to write, developing an adaptation of Sam Shepard’s stage-play Simpatico with the director Matthew Warchus, an old friend from University. He also wrote his first original script, a situation comedy about frustrated waiters, Waiting, which was later optioned by the BBC.
Simpatico was turned into a feature film in 1999, and this allowed David to start writing full-time. He has been twice nominated for BAFTA awards and his first novel, Starter for Ten was featured on the first Richard and Judy Book Club.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,614 reviews
February 1, 2024
What a spectacularly underrated book. Either that, or my taste is shocking. But I think it's the underrated thing.
November 10, 2010
This was a First-Reads win, so I desperately wanted to like this book. It's a coming-of-age story about an awkward, nerdy main character. In fact, this character is like many a person I've known during my own coming-of-age period in my life. Unfortunately, unlike the many similar people I've known and liked and befriended, Brian Jackson lacks any redeeming quality that makes me, the reader, want to root for him.
The first forty pages of the book had me slightly interested in learning what would happen to Brian, the earnest kid with friends back home and a mother living alone, when he goes off to school by himself. I expected a story of growth, of adventure, of mishaps and character clashes. Instead, what I got was a completely off-putting story about a guy who imagines he falls head over heels in love with a girl (whose only attractive quality is that she is luminously beautiful). In the course of pursuing this girl, Brian throws everything away - his friends, his family, his own integrity - and the reader never learns who the real Brian is, or what he could amount to.
In fact, I felt that I hated the main character more and more with each chapter. Normally, I'd put the book down after reaching mid-way point but... I felt I owed it to the Goodreads community to at least read it once through.
I was relieved when the book was over. It was, to say the least, a disappointing experience. I'm truly sorry I didn't enjoy the book more and am not able to give a more positive review, but I figure the point of First-Reads is to provide a body of honest, reliable feedback. So... there it is.
The first forty pages of the book had me slightly interested in learning what would happen to Brian, the earnest kid with friends back home and a mother living alone, when he goes off to school by himself. I expected a story of growth, of adventure, of mishaps and character clashes. Instead, what I got was a completely off-putting story about a guy who imagines he falls head over heels in love with a girl (whose only attractive quality is that she is luminously beautiful). In the course of pursuing this girl, Brian throws everything away - his friends, his family, his own integrity - and the reader never learns who the real Brian is, or what he could amount to.
In fact, I felt that I hated the main character more and more with each chapter. Normally, I'd put the book down after reaching mid-way point but... I felt I owed it to the Goodreads community to at least read it once through.
I was relieved when the book was over. It was, to say the least, a disappointing experience. I'm truly sorry I didn't enjoy the book more and am not able to give a more positive review, but I figure the point of First-Reads is to provide a body of honest, reliable feedback. So... there it is.
March 4, 2018
I think I'd have had a lot more sympathy for the main character if I had read this a decade ago, when I was also an insufferable asshole nineteen year old.
January 10, 2016
This is David Nicholl's first novel and it really shows. Although it was enjoyable, funny, heart wrenching and relatable it just wasn't what I was expecting.
It felt clumsy and confused and I didn't like the way women were portrayed.
I guess I just can't get over the fact that Understudy by him is one of my all time fav books I think about it everyday and I just want another one of his books to do that to me. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.
I found the synopsis and reviews misleading.
Having said that, I did laugh a LOT like out loud and it's hard for a book to make me do that.
I think someone interested in British culture would love this as it is VERY British, comically so. Not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, just very obviously a first book.
I still love you, David.
It felt clumsy and confused and I didn't like the way women were portrayed.
I guess I just can't get over the fact that Understudy by him is one of my all time fav books I think about it everyday and I just want another one of his books to do that to me. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.
I found the synopsis and reviews misleading.
Having said that, I did laugh a LOT like out loud and it's hard for a book to make me do that.
I think someone interested in British culture would love this as it is VERY British, comically so. Not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, just very obviously a first book.
I still love you, David.
September 28, 2015
"I'm aware that the transition into adulthood is a difficult and sometimes painful one. I'm familiar with the conventions of the rites of passage, I know what the literary term bildungsroman means, I realise that it's inevitable that I'll look back at things that happened in my youth and give a wry, knowing smile. But surely there's no reason why I should be embarrassed and ashamed about things that happened thirty seconds ago? No reason why life should just be this endless rolling panorama of bodged friendships, fumbled opportunities, fatuous conversations, wasted days, idiotic remarks and ill-judged unfunny jokes that just lie on the floor in front of me, flipping about like dying fish?"
Starter For Ten is the first novel by British author, David Nicholls. Almost-nineteen-year-old Brian Jackson is starting University. He sees "reading English" as the opportunity to become independent of his widowed mother, meet girls, make new friends, and, who knows, maybe appear on University Challenge (something his Dad would have been thrilled about). He hopes his recently-purchased clothing, his professed hobbies and his conversation will make him seem cool, but knows he is at a disadvantage: "It's not that I'm anti-fashion, it's just that all of the major youth movements I've lived through so far, none have really fitted. At the end of the day, the harsh reality is that if you're a fan of Kate Bush, Charles Dickens, Scrabble, David Attenborough and University "Challenge, then there's not much out there for you in terms of a youth movement." and "When I say I'm interested in badminton what I really mean is that if someone held a gun to my head and forced me, on pain of death, to play one sport, and they were refusing to accept Scrabble as a sport, then that sport would be badminton."
His room in his share house will be familiar to many who experienced University during this era: "The room has the appeal and ambience of a murder scene; a single mattress on a metal frame, a matching plywood wardrobe and desk, and two small wood-effect Formica shelves. The carpets are mud-brown and seem to have been woven from compacted pubic hair. A dirty window above the desk looks out onto the dustbins below, whilst a framed sign warns that using Blu-Tack on the walls is punishable by death".
Soon after he meets the beautiful Alice Harbinson, also trying out for the University Challenge team, everything he says and does is designed to impress her. He eventually manages to ask her out on a date: "...I check my wallet for the condom that I always carry with me in case of a miracle. This particular condom ....has been in my wallet for so long now that it's stuck to the lining, and the foil wrapper has started to tarnish round the outline of the condom., like some grotesque brass rubbing. Still, I like to carry it with me, in the same way some people carry a St Christopher's medal, despite the fact that I have about as much chance of using the thing tonight as I have of carrying the infant Jesus across a river"
Even in his first novel, Nicholls demonstrates his expertise in capturing the era (fashion, popular music, TV programs, ) and in portraying the awkward, hopeful but hopelessly inept protagonist. Readers will wince at Brian's faux pas, cringe at his attempts to impress the girl and laugh out loud at his misfortunes and his self-deprecation, all the while nodding in agreement with his (perhaps naive) reasoning or groaning at his less intelligent decisions. Each chapter is prefaced with a University Challenge question that is loosely related to that chapter.
Nicholls evokes the mood with skill: "The four days in between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve are surely the longest and nastiest in the year- a sort of bloated, bastard Sunday. August Bank Holiday's the worst, though. I fully expect to die at about two-thirty in the afternoon on an August Bank Holiday. Terminal ennui". His descriptive prose is wonderfully original: Giggling, she prods me in the chest with the whisky bottle, and I realise she's very drunk; not gloomy drunk or surly drunk, but frisky drunk, playful drunk, which is a good sign, I suppose, but still a little strange and unsettling, like seeing Stalin on a skateboard". He can be succinct and wise: "'Independence' is the luxury of all those people who are too confident, and busy, and popular, and attractive to be just plain old 'lonely'". Laugh-out-loud funny, this entertaining novel is a brilliant debut.
Starter For Ten is the first novel by British author, David Nicholls. Almost-nineteen-year-old Brian Jackson is starting University. He sees "reading English" as the opportunity to become independent of his widowed mother, meet girls, make new friends, and, who knows, maybe appear on University Challenge (something his Dad would have been thrilled about). He hopes his recently-purchased clothing, his professed hobbies and his conversation will make him seem cool, but knows he is at a disadvantage: "It's not that I'm anti-fashion, it's just that all of the major youth movements I've lived through so far, none have really fitted. At the end of the day, the harsh reality is that if you're a fan of Kate Bush, Charles Dickens, Scrabble, David Attenborough and University "Challenge, then there's not much out there for you in terms of a youth movement." and "When I say I'm interested in badminton what I really mean is that if someone held a gun to my head and forced me, on pain of death, to play one sport, and they were refusing to accept Scrabble as a sport, then that sport would be badminton."
His room in his share house will be familiar to many who experienced University during this era: "The room has the appeal and ambience of a murder scene; a single mattress on a metal frame, a matching plywood wardrobe and desk, and two small wood-effect Formica shelves. The carpets are mud-brown and seem to have been woven from compacted pubic hair. A dirty window above the desk looks out onto the dustbins below, whilst a framed sign warns that using Blu-Tack on the walls is punishable by death".
Soon after he meets the beautiful Alice Harbinson, also trying out for the University Challenge team, everything he says and does is designed to impress her. He eventually manages to ask her out on a date: "...I check my wallet for the condom that I always carry with me in case of a miracle. This particular condom ....has been in my wallet for so long now that it's stuck to the lining, and the foil wrapper has started to tarnish round the outline of the condom., like some grotesque brass rubbing. Still, I like to carry it with me, in the same way some people carry a St Christopher's medal, despite the fact that I have about as much chance of using the thing tonight as I have of carrying the infant Jesus across a river"
Even in his first novel, Nicholls demonstrates his expertise in capturing the era (fashion, popular music, TV programs, ) and in portraying the awkward, hopeful but hopelessly inept protagonist. Readers will wince at Brian's faux pas, cringe at his attempts to impress the girl and laugh out loud at his misfortunes and his self-deprecation, all the while nodding in agreement with his (perhaps naive) reasoning or groaning at his less intelligent decisions. Each chapter is prefaced with a University Challenge question that is loosely related to that chapter.
Nicholls evokes the mood with skill: "The four days in between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve are surely the longest and nastiest in the year- a sort of bloated, bastard Sunday. August Bank Holiday's the worst, though. I fully expect to die at about two-thirty in the afternoon on an August Bank Holiday. Terminal ennui". His descriptive prose is wonderfully original: Giggling, she prods me in the chest with the whisky bottle, and I realise she's very drunk; not gloomy drunk or surly drunk, but frisky drunk, playful drunk, which is a good sign, I suppose, but still a little strange and unsettling, like seeing Stalin on a skateboard". He can be succinct and wise: "'Independence' is the luxury of all those people who are too confident, and busy, and popular, and attractive to be just plain old 'lonely'". Laugh-out-loud funny, this entertaining novel is a brilliant debut.
August 15, 2009
"'Well...' says Alice '...we had some friends round, like we always do on Boxing Day, and we were playing charades, and it was my turn, and I was trying to do 'Last Year At Marienbad' for Mummy, and she was getting so frantic and over-excited, and shouting so hard, that her cap popped out and landed right in our next-door neighbour's glass of wine!'
And everyone's laughing, even Mr Harbinson, and the atmosphere is so funny and adult and amusing and irreverent that I say, 'You mean you weren't wearing any underwear?!?'
Everyone is silent.
'I'm sorry?' asks Rose.
'Your cap. When it popped out. How did it get past your... underpants?'
Mr Harbinson puts down his knife and fork, swallows his mouthful, turns to me and says, very slowly, 'Actually, Brian, I think Alice was referring to her mother's dental cap.'
Shortly afterwards, we all go up to bed."
I read 'Starter for 10' after watching the film adaptation. It is hilarious. It literally made me rock backwards and forwards, shrieking with laughter. It's incredibly funny, comforting and realistic enough to be credible. I have read other books by Nicholls since, but I did not enjoy any as much as 'Starter for 10.'
Sure, Brian is irritating and soppy, but he's supposed to be, and we'd complain if he was a flawless character. And yes, it's blindingly obvious how things will end with Alice/Rebecca, but we have so much fun getting there that it doesn't seem to matter.
And everyone's laughing, even Mr Harbinson, and the atmosphere is so funny and adult and amusing and irreverent that I say, 'You mean you weren't wearing any underwear?!?'
Everyone is silent.
'I'm sorry?' asks Rose.
'Your cap. When it popped out. How did it get past your... underpants?'
Mr Harbinson puts down his knife and fork, swallows his mouthful, turns to me and says, very slowly, 'Actually, Brian, I think Alice was referring to her mother's dental cap.'
Shortly afterwards, we all go up to bed."
I read 'Starter for 10' after watching the film adaptation. It is hilarious. It literally made me rock backwards and forwards, shrieking with laughter. It's incredibly funny, comforting and realistic enough to be credible. I have read other books by Nicholls since, but I did not enjoy any as much as 'Starter for 10.'
Sure, Brian is irritating and soppy, but he's supposed to be, and we'd complain if he was a flawless character. And yes, it's blindingly obvious how things will end with Alice/Rebecca, but we have so much fun getting there that it doesn't seem to matter.
October 11, 2023
This book has some real laugh out loud moments. I really enjoyed it.
Four stars.
Four stars.
December 27, 2019
«Gioia era in quell’alba essere vivi...» ...ma essere giovani era il vero paradiso (Wordsworth)
Ho cercato le risposte alle domande di Brian troppi anni addietro per riuscire ad appassionarmi alla vicenda narrata. “Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play Now I need a place to hide away”. Credo si possa apprezzare il romanzo fino ai 30, dopo, imboccata la strada che porterà ai 40, lo si leggerà con il trasporto con il quale si possono guardare le storie di Instagnam dei millennials. Il libro è scorrevole a tratti ironico, ma nonostante ciò il pensiero di dedicarmi di volta in volta alle pagine che mancavano non mi allettava. È ambientato negli anni ’80 e proprio i millennials leggendolo avrebbero l'occasione di spiare la gioventù dei propri genitori e di confrontarla alla loro, di constatare come il senso di inadeguatezza non abbia fatto progressi grazie alla tecnologia. C'è un momento in cui un essere umano si trova ad avere a che fare con il proprio corpo e a desiderare per la prima volta quello altrui, Houellebecq scriverebbe che quello è l'unico momento in cui si possa parlare di vita nel senso più pieno del termine. Quel momento è fatale perché nessuno è pronto ed attrezzato per affrontarlo e allora mette in atto una serie di tentativi maldestri che anni più tardi verranno raccontati in romanzi come questo. Mi è pesato portare a termine la lettura, da qui la valutazione a due stelle che il libro non meriterebbe per la qualità della prosa e per la cura con la quale si intuisce esser stato tradotto. Le due stelle invece le merita sicuramente Nood che scorrendo gli e-book Amazon e scorgendo Nicholls decide l'acquisto senza documentarsi ulteriormente, non controlla la bibliografia dell'autore, non legge quello che sarebbe stato un probabile deterrente all'acquisto: Le domande di Brian ha svelato sulla scena internazionale il talento di David Nicholls.
In sintesi questo è il primo romanzo dello scrittore inglese che nei due successivi (che io ho letto e apprezzato) si dimostrerà più maturo e meno prevedibile. In sintesi questo è un romanzo che non dovrebbe dispiacere ai numerosi appassionati de “La simmetria dei desideri” come in quel libro sono rappresentati amicizia e amore, seppur in un lasso di tempo più breve, seppur nella vecchia Inghilterra anziché nel giovane tormentato Israele.
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I Millennials che volessero farsi una cassetta (pardon, play-list) dei brani che fecero da colonna sonora alla giovinezza dei loro genitori possono pescare qui. E da qui possono pescare anche i genitori che non abbiano più la piastra o la pazienza di introdurre il nastro dal lato corretto, premere il tasto play e scoprire che l'amplificatore non è acceso, il selettore non è su Tape. Quei genitori che non siano disposti, una volta che finalmente sarà partita la musica, a sentire le casse che restituiscono un suono ovattato, cupo come i ricordi che stanno andando a stuzzicare
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È il turno di Stairway to Heaven. «Dobbiamo per forza ascoltare queste stronzate hippie, Tone?» chiede Spencer. «Sono gli Zep, Spence». «Lo so che sono gli Zep, Tone. È per questo che voglio spegnere quel fottuto affare».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ioy...
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Infilo la cassetta, premo play e Curtis Mayfield attacca a cantare Move on up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z66w...
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Quando arriviamo all’ultima lattina di birra siamo ormai piuttosto sbronzi, così ci sdraiamo supini senza dire niente, ascoltando il mare e Otis Redding che canta Try a little tenderness, e in questa bella serata di fine estate, guardando le stelle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPMo...
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She sells sanctuary dei Cult,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCOSP...
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La prima cosa che faccio è montare lo stereo e mettere su Never for ever, il trionfale terzo album di Kate Bush.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-p9K...
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Nemmeno il gorgogliante giro di basso di Two tribes riesce a nascondere il suono della contrazione dei suoi muscoli facciali.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnh7x...
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«Cristo, ma guardali...» dice con voce stanca e strascicata mentre Two tribes diventa Relax. «Frankie says absolutely noooo fucking idea...»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2TLA...
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dove l’ultima infornata di matricole sta salutando i genitori sulle note di Legend di Bob Marley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsu_8...
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Il deejay ha messo Tainted love e l’atmosfera nella sala sembra essersi fatta più oscura, sessualmente predatoria e decadente…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVpR...
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Resto dietro di lei per l’intera versione lunga di Blue Monday dei New Order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYH8D...
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Stanno suonando Love cats dei Cure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcUza...
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La musica cambia e tocca a Sex machine di James Brown, perfetta per me perché adesso, ora che ci penso, mi sento proprio in vena di tirarmi su e diventare una macchina del sesso.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UzZU...
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È l’ora dei lenti ironici e ammiccanti, tipo Careless whisper…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwMK8...
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ma per me una ballata lirica è qualcosa come Kate Bush che canta The man with the child in his eyes, ed è proprio questo il mio problema fondamentale con gli autori del Romanticismo: non sono abbastanza romantici.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAj8s...
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Ovviamente conosco la risposta, ma fingo in modo accattivante il contrario e poi azzardo: «Perfect Skin, di Lloyd Cole and the Commotions?»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDoJQ...
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«Big Yellow Taxi di Joni Mitchell» dico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdM...
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«From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads...» La so. «Life on Mars di David Bowie» rispondo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKcl...
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Ma lei sembra prenderla in modo alquanto innocente, ci pensa su un attimo e poi dice: «Billy Bragg, A New England».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfRc...
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lampioni al sodio si accendono al nostro passaggio come la pista da ballo illuminata nel video di Billie Jean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XL...
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in preda a qualcosa di simile all’entusiasmo, mentre lo stereo spara Purple Rain a tutto volume.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvnYm...
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«Joni Mitchell! Blue!» «Oh, no, ce l’hai già, non è vero?» «Ne ho solo sei copie. Ma hai visto giusto. Adoro Joni. A dire il vero, ho perso la verginità ascoltando Joni Mitchell». «Spero non con Big Yellow Taxi». «Con Court and Spark, in realtà...»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Z6I...
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La guardo saltellare per la sala sulle note di Crosstown traffic di Jimi Hendrix;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9so3U...
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Stiamo ascoltando Blue, il quinto brano della seconda facciata, e Joni sta cantando: The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in ’68 / And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday / Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark café... E quando il disco finisce e la stanza è silenziosa tranne che per il suono dei ceppi nel camino, rimango seduto perfettamente immobile e la guardo dormire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igj20...
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poi rovista nel cassetto della vecchia scrivania, prende una cassetta, la inserisce e preme play. Credo sia Brian Cant che canta Froggy went a courtin’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUoAw...
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..metto Blue, lato B, quarto brano, A case of you, di sicuro una delle canzoni d’amore più meravigliose mai incise su vinile. «Allora» dico, dopo aver ascoltato in silenzio la prima strofa e il ritornello, «che ne pensi?»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YuaZ...
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ci accasciamo ubriachi sul futon a guardare il soffitto che si curva, si deforma e ruota sopra le nostre teste mentre ascoltiamo Gil Scott-Heron che canta The bottle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdhoX...
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mette Sly and the Family Stone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdorg...
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ha tirato fuori una chitarra acustica e sta cominciando a suonare The Boxer di Simon & Garfunkel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFM...
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«Penso che saremo al sicuro finché non attaccheranno Hey Jude».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_MjC...
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visto che non c’è abbastanza spazio, facendo su e giù con la testa al ritmo di Exodus di Bob Marley,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv584...
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Bob Marley sta cantando No woman, no cry e io osservo Spencer che tira il collo alla lattina di birra guardando Patrick con gli occhi socchiusi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHlSE...
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stretti e dice: «Ora ce ne andiamo, okay?» Al piano di sotto stanno cantando in coro With a little help from my friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCrly...
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Restiamo alzati un’oretta, bevendo whisky seduti uno accanto all’altra sul letto, ascoltando Tapestry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5yK1...
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Ogni volta che sento Edith Piaf cantare Non, je ne regrette rien (e ora che sono all’università accade più spesso di quanto vorrei non posso fare a meno di pensare: di cosa diavolo sta parlando? Io mi pento più o meno di tutto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPvx...
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per il resto del viaggio fino a Manchester ascoltiamo una cassetta rovinata e gorgheggiante di The look of love degli ABC,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNEdx...
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Ho riascoltato The hounds of love, e ho deciso che è quasi certamente il miglior disco di Kate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43O...
Running up that Hill, il primo brano dell’album è quello che sceglierei io come colonna sonora di questo romanzo e del 1985
Ho cercato le risposte alle domande di Brian troppi anni addietro per riuscire ad appassionarmi alla vicenda narrata. “Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play Now I need a place to hide away”. Credo si possa apprezzare il romanzo fino ai 30, dopo, imboccata la strada che porterà ai 40, lo si leggerà con il trasporto con il quale si possono guardare le storie di Instagnam dei millennials. Il libro è scorrevole a tratti ironico, ma nonostante ciò il pensiero di dedicarmi di volta in volta alle pagine che mancavano non mi allettava. È ambientato negli anni ’80 e proprio i millennials leggendolo avrebbero l'occasione di spiare la gioventù dei propri genitori e di confrontarla alla loro, di constatare come il senso di inadeguatezza non abbia fatto progressi grazie alla tecnologia. C'è un momento in cui un essere umano si trova ad avere a che fare con il proprio corpo e a desiderare per la prima volta quello altrui, Houellebecq scriverebbe che quello è l'unico momento in cui si possa parlare di vita nel senso più pieno del termine. Quel momento è fatale perché nessuno è pronto ed attrezzato per affrontarlo e allora mette in atto una serie di tentativi maldestri che anni più tardi verranno raccontati in romanzi come questo. Mi è pesato portare a termine la lettura, da qui la valutazione a due stelle che il libro non meriterebbe per la qualità della prosa e per la cura con la quale si intuisce esser stato tradotto. Le due stelle invece le merita sicuramente Nood che scorrendo gli e-book Amazon e scorgendo Nicholls decide l'acquisto senza documentarsi ulteriormente, non controlla la bibliografia dell'autore, non legge quello che sarebbe stato un probabile deterrente all'acquisto: Le domande di Brian ha svelato sulla scena internazionale il talento di David Nicholls.
In sintesi questo è il primo romanzo dello scrittore inglese che nei due successivi (che io ho letto e apprezzato) si dimostrerà più maturo e meno prevedibile. In sintesi questo è un romanzo che non dovrebbe dispiacere ai numerosi appassionati de “La simmetria dei desideri” come in quel libro sono rappresentati amicizia e amore, seppur in un lasso di tempo più breve, seppur nella vecchia Inghilterra anziché nel giovane tormentato Israele.
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I Millennials che volessero farsi una cassetta (pardon, play-list) dei brani che fecero da colonna sonora alla giovinezza dei loro genitori possono pescare qui. E da qui possono pescare anche i genitori che non abbiano più la piastra o la pazienza di introdurre il nastro dal lato corretto, premere il tasto play e scoprire che l'amplificatore non è acceso, il selettore non è su Tape. Quei genitori che non siano disposti, una volta che finalmente sarà partita la musica, a sentire le casse che restituiscono un suono ovattato, cupo come i ricordi che stanno andando a stuzzicare
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È il turno di Stairway to Heaven. «Dobbiamo per forza ascoltare queste stronzate hippie, Tone?» chiede Spencer. «Sono gli Zep, Spence». «Lo so che sono gli Zep, Tone. È per questo che voglio spegnere quel fottuto affare».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ioy...
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Infilo la cassetta, premo play e Curtis Mayfield attacca a cantare Move on up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z66w...
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Quando arriviamo all’ultima lattina di birra siamo ormai piuttosto sbronzi, così ci sdraiamo supini senza dire niente, ascoltando il mare e Otis Redding che canta Try a little tenderness, e in questa bella serata di fine estate, guardando le stelle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPMo...
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She sells sanctuary dei Cult,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCOSP...
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La prima cosa che faccio è montare lo stereo e mettere su Never for ever, il trionfale terzo album di Kate Bush.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-p9K...
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Nemmeno il gorgogliante giro di basso di Two tribes riesce a nascondere il suono della contrazione dei suoi muscoli facciali.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnh7x...
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«Cristo, ma guardali...» dice con voce stanca e strascicata mentre Two tribes diventa Relax. «Frankie says absolutely noooo fucking idea...»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2TLA...
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dove l’ultima infornata di matricole sta salutando i genitori sulle note di Legend di Bob Marley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsu_8...
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Il deejay ha messo Tainted love e l’atmosfera nella sala sembra essersi fatta più oscura, sessualmente predatoria e decadente…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVpR...
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Resto dietro di lei per l’intera versione lunga di Blue Monday dei New Order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYH8D...
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Stanno suonando Love cats dei Cure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcUza...
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La musica cambia e tocca a Sex machine di James Brown, perfetta per me perché adesso, ora che ci penso, mi sento proprio in vena di tirarmi su e diventare una macchina del sesso.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UzZU...
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È l’ora dei lenti ironici e ammiccanti, tipo Careless whisper…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwMK8...
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ma per me una ballata lirica è qualcosa come Kate Bush che canta The man with the child in his eyes, ed è proprio questo il mio problema fondamentale con gli autori del Romanticismo: non sono abbastanza romantici.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAj8s...
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Ovviamente conosco la risposta, ma fingo in modo accattivante il contrario e poi azzardo: «Perfect Skin, di Lloyd Cole and the Commotions?»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDoJQ...
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«Big Yellow Taxi di Joni Mitchell» dico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdM...
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«From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads...» La so. «Life on Mars di David Bowie» rispondo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKcl...
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Ma lei sembra prenderla in modo alquanto innocente, ci pensa su un attimo e poi dice: «Billy Bragg, A New England».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfRc...
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lampioni al sodio si accendono al nostro passaggio come la pista da ballo illuminata nel video di Billie Jean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XL...
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in preda a qualcosa di simile all’entusiasmo, mentre lo stereo spara Purple Rain a tutto volume.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvnYm...
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«Joni Mitchell! Blue!» «Oh, no, ce l’hai già, non è vero?» «Ne ho solo sei copie. Ma hai visto giusto. Adoro Joni. A dire il vero, ho perso la verginità ascoltando Joni Mitchell». «Spero non con Big Yellow Taxi». «Con Court and Spark, in realtà...»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Z6I...
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La guardo saltellare per la sala sulle note di Crosstown traffic di Jimi Hendrix;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9so3U...
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Stiamo ascoltando Blue, il quinto brano della seconda facciata, e Joni sta cantando: The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in ’68 / And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday / Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark café... E quando il disco finisce e la stanza è silenziosa tranne che per il suono dei ceppi nel camino, rimango seduto perfettamente immobile e la guardo dormire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igj20...
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poi rovista nel cassetto della vecchia scrivania, prende una cassetta, la inserisce e preme play. Credo sia Brian Cant che canta Froggy went a courtin’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUoAw...
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..metto Blue, lato B, quarto brano, A case of you, di sicuro una delle canzoni d’amore più meravigliose mai incise su vinile. «Allora» dico, dopo aver ascoltato in silenzio la prima strofa e il ritornello, «che ne pensi?»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YuaZ...
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ci accasciamo ubriachi sul futon a guardare il soffitto che si curva, si deforma e ruota sopra le nostre teste mentre ascoltiamo Gil Scott-Heron che canta The bottle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdhoX...
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mette Sly and the Family Stone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdorg...
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ha tirato fuori una chitarra acustica e sta cominciando a suonare The Boxer di Simon & Garfunkel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFM...
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«Penso che saremo al sicuro finché non attaccheranno Hey Jude».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_MjC...
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visto che non c’è abbastanza spazio, facendo su e giù con la testa al ritmo di Exodus di Bob Marley,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv584...
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Bob Marley sta cantando No woman, no cry e io osservo Spencer che tira il collo alla lattina di birra guardando Patrick con gli occhi socchiusi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHlSE...
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stretti e dice: «Ora ce ne andiamo, okay?» Al piano di sotto stanno cantando in coro With a little help from my friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCrly...
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Restiamo alzati un’oretta, bevendo whisky seduti uno accanto all’altra sul letto, ascoltando Tapestry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5yK1...
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Ogni volta che sento Edith Piaf cantare Non, je ne regrette rien (e ora che sono all’università accade più spesso di quanto vorrei non posso fare a meno di pensare: di cosa diavolo sta parlando? Io mi pento più o meno di tutto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPvx...
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per il resto del viaggio fino a Manchester ascoltiamo una cassetta rovinata e gorgheggiante di The look of love degli ABC,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNEdx...
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Ho riascoltato The hounds of love, e ho deciso che è quasi certamente il miglior disco di Kate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43O...
Running up that Hill, il primo brano dell’album è quello che sceglierei io come colonna sonora di questo romanzo e del 1985
February 2, 2011
Brian Jackson is a grant student entering his first year at university. Coming from blue collar family and friends, he’s always been the oddball at home, and is hoping that at university he will find his niche. As a fan of the television show University Challenge, he is excited to make the team, even if it is only as first alternate – mostly because he gets to see the posh and beautiful Alice at team meetings. As his first year of college progresses, though, Brian learns the valuable lesson that knowledge does not equal wisdom – and that there is more to being smart than knowing all the answers.
Have you ever had this kind of experience: you’re reading a book, and you read a sentence-paragraph-half-a-page-chapter that is so tautly written and absolutely hysterical that you must read it aloud to someone immediately – only there isn’t anyone around?!? I had this experience while reading Starter for Ten over and over (and over and over) again. One of the cover blurbs says that this book has the “elusive Hornby-factor” and I would second that thought – this book has the same way of looking at the world slant-ways and finding the humor and stark-raving madness in the mere fact of being human – and yet Nicholls manages to find his own voice and not come across as a Hornby wannabe.
In Brian, Nicholls has captured the ultimate eighteen-year-old – he is convinced that he is now an adult, and he is READY FOR LIFE. And yet, any of us who have reached the age of 25 – or even 20 (or in my case almost 20 years older than that) – remember how little we knew about ourselves and the world at age 18. Brian is a truly lovable character – you root for him and root for him and then groan when he completely sabotages any chances of being seen as a cool – or even normal – person. He simply has the worst possible luck, in little things like picking out the restaurant for a first date or simply getting a haircut – so you can imagine how his luck runs when it comes to the big things, like finding true love, or getting an education.
I loved Nicholls’ novel One Day, but I’m glad that I read one review that stated how different it was from Starter for Ten. Because I knew that going in, I wasn’t expecting this to be the same kind of book. It isn’t. It has more humor and, in spite of Brian’s rotten luck, more hope. This doesn’t make it better or worse, as I gave both books five stars, just different. So, if you loved One Day, read this and know that it is a different book. If you didn’t like One Day, read this and know that it is a different book.
Have you ever had this kind of experience: you’re reading a book, and you read a sentence-paragraph-half-a-page-chapter that is so tautly written and absolutely hysterical that you must read it aloud to someone immediately – only there isn’t anyone around?!? I had this experience while reading Starter for Ten over and over (and over and over) again. One of the cover blurbs says that this book has the “elusive Hornby-factor” and I would second that thought – this book has the same way of looking at the world slant-ways and finding the humor and stark-raving madness in the mere fact of being human – and yet Nicholls manages to find his own voice and not come across as a Hornby wannabe.
In Brian, Nicholls has captured the ultimate eighteen-year-old – he is convinced that he is now an adult, and he is READY FOR LIFE. And yet, any of us who have reached the age of 25 – or even 20 (or in my case almost 20 years older than that) – remember how little we knew about ourselves and the world at age 18. Brian is a truly lovable character – you root for him and root for him and then groan when he completely sabotages any chances of being seen as a cool – or even normal – person. He simply has the worst possible luck, in little things like picking out the restaurant for a first date or simply getting a haircut – so you can imagine how his luck runs when it comes to the big things, like finding true love, or getting an education.
I loved Nicholls’ novel One Day, but I’m glad that I read one review that stated how different it was from Starter for Ten. Because I knew that going in, I wasn’t expecting this to be the same kind of book. It isn’t. It has more humor and, in spite of Brian’s rotten luck, more hope. This doesn’t make it better or worse, as I gave both books five stars, just different. So, if you loved One Day, read this and know that it is a different book. If you didn’t like One Day, read this and know that it is a different book.
March 7, 2009
This is a very funny book about an English lad during his first year at University. He has all the usual first year mishaps and, partly as a result of "falling in love" with a beautiful undergraduate, joins the team for University Challenge, a British quiz programme based on College Bowl. He pursues his relationship with "the beautiful girl" while at the same time crossing swords with a radical but much more rounded girl. The book was made into a film starring James McAvoy which is also very amusing. Don't read this book while drinking milk or it will be coming out of your nose.
December 5, 2023
Bitter-sweet, funny and somehow interesting as a mirror of the society in the 1980s. It's the third product by Mr. Nicholls I've read and I do appreciate his heroes, very close to the prototype of the young man stupid or unlucky enough to miss his goals but smart enough to realize that.
PS: I wonder what are the favorite books of those who have rated this one with only a star. In fact, I don't, I'd probably be disappointed by the multitude of Kinsella or Bushnell products...
PS: I wonder what are the favorite books of those who have rated this one with only a star. In fact, I don't, I'd probably be disappointed by the multitude of Kinsella or Bushnell products...
May 10, 2009
This is set at Bristol University in one of the years I was studying there (which is why I read it) and is presumably somewhat autobiographical as the author was there at that time. However, bar the odd mention of certain music, it wasn't particularly comparable to my experience or people I knew.
It is the story of Brian's first couple of terms at university, during which he fulfils an ambition to be on the University Challenge (TV quiz) team. However, the quiz is just a literary hook to portray the struggle of an awkward, naive working class boy, still grieving for the father who died 6 years earlier, to fit in with a very different crowd. Other than being a socialist, he wants to be all things to all men - and women - but invariably gets it wrong. His inner monologue is documented too (as in Peep Show and The Inbetweeners on TV), which gives plenty of scope for humour.
It's all quite amusing, but it's a quick and shallow read.
Now off to try Brett Easton Ellis's take on US college life in a similar period. That should be a contrast!
It is the story of Brian's first couple of terms at university, during which he fulfils an ambition to be on the University Challenge (TV quiz) team. However, the quiz is just a literary hook to portray the struggle of an awkward, naive working class boy, still grieving for the father who died 6 years earlier, to fit in with a very different crowd. Other than being a socialist, he wants to be all things to all men - and women - but invariably gets it wrong. His inner monologue is documented too (as in Peep Show and The Inbetweeners on TV), which gives plenty of scope for humour.
It's all quite amusing, but it's a quick and shallow read.
Now off to try Brett Easton Ellis's take on US college life in a similar period. That should be a contrast!
November 23, 2018
¡Qué maravilla! Creo que, después de leer los tres libros que tiene traducidos al español, ya puedo decir que la voz narradora de David Nicholls es la mejor que me he encontrado nunca en comedia. Ha conseguido arrancarme carcajadas (y soy MUY difícil yo en eso), pero carcajadas... de tener que cerrar el libro y dedicar un momento solo a reírme. Y eso no tiene precio.
La trama es muy sencilla, algo naíf y menos apasionante (para mí) que las de «Siempre el mismo día» o «Nosotros», pero lo cuenta todo tan bien que casi casi da igual de qué trate el libro. Creo que de este hombre podría leerme hasta la lista de la compra y la disfrutaría. Un genio.
La trama es muy sencilla, algo naíf y menos apasionante (para mí) que las de «Siempre el mismo día» o «Nosotros», pero lo cuenta todo tan bien que casi casi da igual de qué trate el libro. Creo que de este hombre podría leerme hasta la lista de la compra y la disfrutaría. Un genio.
November 10, 2022
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2022: A book set in the 1980's
David Nicholls writes books about hapless young men who can't see what's right in front of them and it destroys me every time. This time, our affable screw-up is Brian Jackson; an 18 year old man who goes off to uni, joins the University Challenge team and develops an infatuation for teammate Alice based solely on her physical attractiveness.
Nicholls' characters are always so searingly and frustratingly real. This means that I find myself getting cross with them and wanting to sit them down and give them a telling off! Luckily, Nicholls usually does it for me by the end of the book.
Starter for 10 is, at times, laugh out loud funny in the same way that The Office (UK) was, back in the day. That cringey British humour that I had a much higher tolerance for in the early 00s.
It is also a book full of understated, everyday heartache. Its life-affirming lessons creep in without fanfare and leave you with a feeling both bitter and sweet.
Clever, relatable and, although I didn't love it as much as One Day, it still probably makes the cut for a 5 star rating.
David Nicholls writes books about hapless young men who can't see what's right in front of them and it destroys me every time. This time, our affable screw-up is Brian Jackson; an 18 year old man who goes off to uni, joins the University Challenge team and develops an infatuation for teammate Alice based solely on her physical attractiveness.
Nicholls' characters are always so searingly and frustratingly real. This means that I find myself getting cross with them and wanting to sit them down and give them a telling off! Luckily, Nicholls usually does it for me by the end of the book.
Starter for 10 is, at times, laugh out loud funny in the same way that The Office (UK) was, back in the day. That cringey British humour that I had a much higher tolerance for in the early 00s.
It is also a book full of understated, everyday heartache. Its life-affirming lessons creep in without fanfare and leave you with a feeling both bitter and sweet.
Clever, relatable and, although I didn't love it as much as One Day, it still probably makes the cut for a 5 star rating.
July 1, 2019
Nicholls' creation Brian is awkward, arrogant, and still in the process of growing up. As a reader, you watch his social faux pas through your fingers. At times you simply want to give him a shake. Despite the fact that he believes he has learnt and matures by the end of the novel Nicholls does not give in and give us the Hollywood transformation. You'll still want to shakes some sense into when you hear his final words.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2011
When we were young -a long long time ago- a friend of mine and me joked about the continuous crises: the first-year-at-uni crisis, the mid-degree crisis and of course, the last-degree-year crisis. Hey, our life was so full!
This is a first-year-at-uni crisis novel, dissected by his protagonist and narrator, Brian. He presents himself as a working-class lad setting off on his big university journey, with all its appealing prospects: leaving home to live on your own -that is to say, in your shared accommodation-, meeting lots of attractive interesting girls, learning all sorts of important things and even becoming part of the University Challenge team!
Brian is a bit different in that he is the only one in his group of friends to have earned a grant to go to uni: the other lads are stuck in dreary underpaid jobs in the middle of a recession, as the book is set in the 1980´s. Of course, I couldn´t help comparing the situation of these funded students with today´s recession and the exhorbitant price of university fees. Being paid to study? It seems like the stuff of fairy tales now!
Predictably, as Brian tries to meet as many people as possible and to have as many experiences as possible, he neglects his mum and his friends: he doesn´t go back for weekends, doesn´t phone much and when his best friend comes to visit, he is unkind. So this is not entirely a campus-novel: it is also a novel about what is outside the campus, about the friends we have left behind and the families who are carrying on with their lives.
I gather that universities are the place where middle class and lower class undergraduates meet upper class undergraduates, the kind of students who went to public schools and have tons of cash, property and privileges. This was a topic in "One Day" too. It seems to happen for the first time, too. As I am not British, I was surprised by such a deep class division. Did they never go to the same pubs and clubs wherever they all came from? Here Brian falls for blonde posh girl Alice, and they strike up a sort of friendship that degenerates into farce at various points, notably when Brian spends a desultory Christmas holiday at Alice´s family´s country home. Well, there is a blond dream girl in every guy´s past, so we will not hold down any hard feelings against Brian. Who can blame him for trying? Not me, certainly.
I look forward to my kids enjoying university life, even if I haven´t got a clue how on earth we are going to be able to afford this. Well, my son has only just started Reception, so it may be a bit early to worry about it.
This is a first-year-at-uni crisis novel, dissected by his protagonist and narrator, Brian. He presents himself as a working-class lad setting off on his big university journey, with all its appealing prospects: leaving home to live on your own -that is to say, in your shared accommodation-, meeting lots of attractive interesting girls, learning all sorts of important things and even becoming part of the University Challenge team!
Brian is a bit different in that he is the only one in his group of friends to have earned a grant to go to uni: the other lads are stuck in dreary underpaid jobs in the middle of a recession, as the book is set in the 1980´s. Of course, I couldn´t help comparing the situation of these funded students with today´s recession and the exhorbitant price of university fees. Being paid to study? It seems like the stuff of fairy tales now!
Predictably, as Brian tries to meet as many people as possible and to have as many experiences as possible, he neglects his mum and his friends: he doesn´t go back for weekends, doesn´t phone much and when his best friend comes to visit, he is unkind. So this is not entirely a campus-novel: it is also a novel about what is outside the campus, about the friends we have left behind and the families who are carrying on with their lives.
I gather that universities are the place where middle class and lower class undergraduates meet upper class undergraduates, the kind of students who went to public schools and have tons of cash, property and privileges. This was a topic in "One Day" too. It seems to happen for the first time, too. As I am not British, I was surprised by such a deep class division. Did they never go to the same pubs and clubs wherever they all came from? Here Brian falls for blonde posh girl Alice, and they strike up a sort of friendship that degenerates into farce at various points, notably when Brian spends a desultory Christmas holiday at Alice´s family´s country home. Well, there is a blond dream girl in every guy´s past, so we will not hold down any hard feelings against Brian. Who can blame him for trying? Not me, certainly.
I look forward to my kids enjoying university life, even if I haven´t got a clue how on earth we are going to be able to afford this. Well, my son has only just started Reception, so it may be a bit early to worry about it.
July 23, 2015
This book made me glad that there are such things as libraries.Had I wasted a nickle buying this book I would've been furious.
It's not very good.
The first thing I want to say is that once you're onto David Nicholl's gimmicks - the whole book falls apart. Here it is- his gimmick: He seems to lead you to this great climax in the plot and then whammo- he lets you drop-flat on your face. All his plots have bad endings. That's how he engages you- with bad endings.
Yes One Day was fabulous- but that was because I wasn't onto this aforementioned gimmick yet.That book as well had a really bad ending- but like I said because I read it first- it was still believable.
Now this one, Starter for 10- just plain Blah.
The lead character is hideously unlikable- which goes to show you that you can't write a book about a nerd without boring the pants off your readers- which he did.
This guy, Brian Jackson, was such a profoundly pretentious asshole- that he made me sick.Really sick.
The only characters I liked were the Marxist woman-she was good clean fun-and Brian's 2nd to best buddy-Tone - who is such an unabashed red neck that I found him quite thrilling.
As to the rest-like I said -Thank God for libraries.
This book is a waste of time and money.
Don't read it. Don't buy it.
I never read Debut novels- which this one was for David Nicholls. I figure let someone else go through his growing pains.
And most importantly never read a book where the author drops so many names in his book flap bio that you want to puke before you even start the book.
Name dropping is very irritating as was this book. There you have it.
Lousy book.JM
It's not very good.
The first thing I want to say is that once you're onto David Nicholl's gimmicks - the whole book falls apart. Here it is- his gimmick: He seems to lead you to this great climax in the plot and then whammo- he lets you drop-flat on your face. All his plots have bad endings. That's how he engages you- with bad endings.
Yes One Day was fabulous- but that was because I wasn't onto this aforementioned gimmick yet.That book as well had a really bad ending- but like I said because I read it first- it was still believable.
Now this one, Starter for 10- just plain Blah.
The lead character is hideously unlikable- which goes to show you that you can't write a book about a nerd without boring the pants off your readers- which he did.
This guy, Brian Jackson, was such a profoundly pretentious asshole- that he made me sick.Really sick.
The only characters I liked were the Marxist woman-she was good clean fun-and Brian's 2nd to best buddy-Tone - who is such an unabashed red neck that I found him quite thrilling.
As to the rest-like I said -Thank God for libraries.
This book is a waste of time and money.
Don't read it. Don't buy it.
I never read Debut novels- which this one was for David Nicholls. I figure let someone else go through his growing pains.
And most importantly never read a book where the author drops so many names in his book flap bio that you want to puke before you even start the book.
Name dropping is very irritating as was this book. There you have it.
Lousy book.JM
May 24, 2018
A quick easy read, coming of age story. I felt the anxieties of teenagers, leaving to go to university was well portrayed and the issues of social class
May 7, 2013
Men don't read. Or that's something of a stereotype assigned by publishers that makes finding good books somewhat difficult at times. One can always pick up airport reads about lawyers (Grisham) spies (Clancy) or scary medical stuff (Crichton) and then of course there is fare for the intellectual (Franzen). What about the non-alpha male middle class white guy, somewhat in touch with his sensitive side who wants to pick up something that doesn't assume he is without brains, but doesn't necessarily push him to work out the meaning of every line? That's tougher.
Okay, that's a tough complaint to make given that the demographic I just described is catered to by pretty much the entire non-literary world. Still...for that demographic and at this point I should be honest and say, for me, it can sometimes be a challenge to find something that you can bring to the beach without giving the impression that you're reading chick lit (being in touch with one's sensitive side does not mean that one is willing to whip out the Jodi Picoult at the beach...sorry) but without resorting to reading Dickens (which I've done at the beach and it just doesn't have that escapist quality you want at the beach).
So, I gave David Nicholls a second chance despite his kicking me in the groin with the first book of his that I chose. After all, he keptly fairly well entertained for three hundred pages, most of which I turned through fairly quickly. Same here. This book doesn't insult my intelligence and assumes that you might know something about Dickens and Shakespeare. At the same time it doesn't require that you do. It kept me entertained through several late night rocking the baby sessions and through one happily not so long wait for a CAT scan (no worries...I'm fine) and caused me to laugh more than once. There are things I could get picky about, but getting picky goes against the grain for the type of book I was looking for here.
Okay, that's a tough complaint to make given that the demographic I just described is catered to by pretty much the entire non-literary world. Still...for that demographic and at this point I should be honest and say, for me, it can sometimes be a challenge to find something that you can bring to the beach without giving the impression that you're reading chick lit (being in touch with one's sensitive side does not mean that one is willing to whip out the Jodi Picoult at the beach...sorry) but without resorting to reading Dickens (which I've done at the beach and it just doesn't have that escapist quality you want at the beach).
So, I gave David Nicholls a second chance despite his kicking me in the groin with the first book of his that I chose. After all, he keptly fairly well entertained for three hundred pages, most of which I turned through fairly quickly. Same here. This book doesn't insult my intelligence and assumes that you might know something about Dickens and Shakespeare. At the same time it doesn't require that you do. It kept me entertained through several late night rocking the baby sessions and through one happily not so long wait for a CAT scan (no worries...I'm fine) and caused me to laugh more than once. There are things I could get picky about, but getting picky goes against the grain for the type of book I was looking for here.
February 17, 2011
I had high hopes for this book after reading One Day, but they turned out to be in vain. Starter for Ten has a cast of characters that I found generally repugnant, especially the main character. He's so obsessed with a girl who plainly doesn't like him and who uses him repeatedly, yet he never seems to learn from these lessons, so the reader is forced to roll their eyes as surprise!-she screws him over again. The story focuses more on his failed courtship of her than it does on his self-professed dream, and just when I thought I couldn't be more disgusted I read the ending and realized there was truly no hope (or redemption) for Brian after all.
June 7, 2011
Post-One Day, I wanted to have at some more of David Nicholls' work. Starter for 10 is his first novel, and well....I finished it underwhelmed.
A few reasons why this one tripped me up when One Day (for me anyway) was so lovely:
1) The protagonist, Brian Jackson: A college freshman, Brian has fancy notions of what it means to head off to university. But he's nerdy and his face is pock-marked with acne and he's awkward. So, SO awkward. Every scene becomes slightly painful to read because it's Brian tripping over his words to be funny. Brian trying to sound smarter than he is. Brian thinking a girl—like the gorgeous Alice Harbinson—is in to him when, well, really she's not.
2) The storyline: I'm far enough removed from the college scene now that reading about the days of "getting pissed" every night and being hung over every morning make me feel old. The book's plot builds up to Brian and his team's participation in the University Challenge (think Jeopardy for the college set) and while these bits of the book are pretty solid ... it's the everyday life of the 19-year-old that gets old. Oh, and a bit of a pet peeve — Nicholls begins and ends his story here using the same lines (bit of a literary cop-out, eh?)
3) The British divide: We all speak English. How bad could it be? Turns out, there are enough differences in our countries' vernaculars that I found myself tripping over certain words or puzzling over phrases because of it. Made it more of a challenge to really get in to this one.
Compelled to watch the film version of this after reading (because, after all, it has James McAvoy and Rebecca Hall) but even that didn't sell me. Just an OK read (and film) for me....
A few reasons why this one tripped me up when One Day (for me anyway) was so lovely:
1) The protagonist, Brian Jackson: A college freshman, Brian has fancy notions of what it means to head off to university. But he's nerdy and his face is pock-marked with acne and he's awkward. So, SO awkward. Every scene becomes slightly painful to read because it's Brian tripping over his words to be funny. Brian trying to sound smarter than he is. Brian thinking a girl—like the gorgeous Alice Harbinson—is in to him when, well, really she's not.
2) The storyline: I'm far enough removed from the college scene now that reading about the days of "getting pissed" every night and being hung over every morning make me feel old. The book's plot builds up to Brian and his team's participation in the University Challenge (think Jeopardy for the college set) and while these bits of the book are pretty solid ... it's the everyday life of the 19-year-old that gets old. Oh, and a bit of a pet peeve — Nicholls begins and ends his story here using the same lines (bit of a literary cop-out, eh?)
3) The British divide: We all speak English. How bad could it be? Turns out, there are enough differences in our countries' vernaculars that I found myself tripping over certain words or puzzling over phrases because of it. Made it more of a challenge to really get in to this one.
Compelled to watch the film version of this after reading (because, after all, it has James McAvoy and Rebecca Hall) but even that didn't sell me. Just an OK read (and film) for me....
February 29, 2016
Tohle mi prostě fakt sedlo. Brian je mi jako hlavní hrdina hrozně sympatický, asi hlavně tím, že se v něm trochu vidím. A fakt jsem se musela smát u popisů vysokoškolskýho života, protože prostě jo, takhle nějak to vypadá. David Nicholls opravdu nepíše knížky, který by mě nějak zásadně obohatily, ale píše knížky, který mě hrozně baví číst. Tahle měla navíc tu výhodu, že pojednávala o věcech, který mi jsou sakra blízko. Velkým plusem jsou taky postavy, který Nicholls zkrátka umí.
4* a těším se na další knihu :)
4* a těším se na další knihu :)
July 27, 2016
I like game shows, so I was interested in the quiz show aspect of this book. I found the book painful to read at times, as the main character was so awkward and inept. Yet, truth be told, I did a lot of stupid things when I was his age. Maybe I was a little better at covering my tracks.
January 4, 2015
Retirado do post original em http://alerdesde1500.blogspot.ch/2013...
David Nicholls é um dos meus escritores contemporâneos preferidos.
Adorei "One Day" e este "Starter For Ten" esteve muito perto das 5 estrelas mas…
O meu "mas" com D. Nicholls continua a ser o mesmo: crescer não tem de ser uma sucessão de desilusões.
A escrita dele é do mais fluente que tenho lido, os diálogos realistas, as observações perspicazes e pertinentes, um humor constante, ironia q.b.
E mesmo com tudo isto, há um constante sentimento de derrota e desilusão porque os personagens só "metem o pé na poça" para qualquer lado que se viram.
Tal como no "One Day" o personagem principal está a tentar descobrir-se como pessoa, e tal como "One Day" ele passa o livro a boicotar-se.
Quer ir para Norte e vira para Sul.
Eu já tive 18 anos (há muito, muito tempo) e mesmo que a memória me falhe um bocado, eu já tinha uma capacidade de conectar 'acção e consequência', o que os personagens de D. Nicholls parecem nunca ter, nem aprender.
E o pior para mim neste livro: o final.
(no spoilers)
Brian comete um erro, desilude os amigos, e em vez de enfrentar as consequências, foge e esconde-se.
Eu que passei o livro à espera da "tomada de consciência", do momento em que ele se torna-se por fim um "homenzinho" a sério, só dei foi com o nariz na porta!
liliana
David Nicholls é um dos meus escritores contemporâneos preferidos.
Adorei "One Day" e este "Starter For Ten" esteve muito perto das 5 estrelas mas…
O meu "mas" com D. Nicholls continua a ser o mesmo: crescer não tem de ser uma sucessão de desilusões.
A escrita dele é do mais fluente que tenho lido, os diálogos realistas, as observações perspicazes e pertinentes, um humor constante, ironia q.b.
E mesmo com tudo isto, há um constante sentimento de derrota e desilusão porque os personagens só "metem o pé na poça" para qualquer lado que se viram.
Tal como no "One Day" o personagem principal está a tentar descobrir-se como pessoa, e tal como "One Day" ele passa o livro a boicotar-se.
Quer ir para Norte e vira para Sul.
Eu já tive 18 anos (há muito, muito tempo) e mesmo que a memória me falhe um bocado, eu já tinha uma capacidade de conectar 'acção e consequência', o que os personagens de D. Nicholls parecem nunca ter, nem aprender.
E o pior para mim neste livro: o final.
(no spoilers)
Brian comete um erro, desilude os amigos, e em vez de enfrentar as consequências, foge e esconde-se.
Eu que passei o livro à espera da "tomada de consciência", do momento em que ele se torna-se por fim um "homenzinho" a sério, só dei foi com o nariz na porta!
liliana
January 13, 2015
4.5 stars
This book was hilarious. I don't tend to pick up funny books for some reason but I am so glad I picked this one up. Honestly, it was one of the funniest books I have ever read.
Brian was such a great character. He was the one you loved to hate and his knack of embarrassing himself constantly left me in hysterics. There were times when I was actually groaning audibly because of his awkwardness. By the end of the book, I felt so close to him and I just wanted more. I found myself picking up Starter for Ten at every spare moment I got because I was so immersed in the story and characters. Rebecca was fantastic; she reminded me very much of Mary-Elizabeth from Perks.
Yes, the ending was predictable with regards to Alice and Rebecca but so many books are and I didn't feel like it took away from the plot that much. The whole idea about University Challenge was great and the questions at the start of each chapter were so interesting. I loved that David Nicholls mentioned something to do with his question in each chapter, too and it quickly became a game of 'spot the reference'. Starter for Ten was an incredible book and I'm really looking forward to reading more of David Nicholls' books.
This book was hilarious. I don't tend to pick up funny books for some reason but I am so glad I picked this one up. Honestly, it was one of the funniest books I have ever read.
Brian was such a great character. He was the one you loved to hate and his knack of embarrassing himself constantly left me in hysterics. There were times when I was actually groaning audibly because of his awkwardness. By the end of the book, I felt so close to him and I just wanted more. I found myself picking up Starter for Ten at every spare moment I got because I was so immersed in the story and characters. Rebecca was fantastic; she reminded me very much of Mary-Elizabeth from Perks.
Yes, the ending was predictable with regards to Alice and Rebecca but so many books are and I didn't feel like it took away from the plot that much. The whole idea about University Challenge was great and the questions at the start of each chapter were so interesting. I loved that David Nicholls mentioned something to do with his question in each chapter, too and it quickly became a game of 'spot the reference'. Starter for Ten was an incredible book and I'm really looking forward to reading more of David Nicholls' books.
June 17, 2020
Esse é meu segundo livro do David Nicholls, comecei pelo clássico "Um dia" e acho que já posso dizer que ele não deve escrever livro ruim. O enredo é dos mais banais possíveis: estudante na fase de transição escola-faculdade, que normalmente para qualquer pessoa do mundo fora das metrópoles brasileiras se trata de uma ruptura com sua zona de conforto (sair da casa dos pais, começar a se virar sozinho, mudar de cidade) e o que tudo isso acarreta em sua vida, do ponto de vista emocional e material.
Mas na escrita desse autor, essa trama banal assume novas formas e nuances que te prendem na trama e, aos poucos, criam uma super ligação com o personagem principal, Brian. Ajuda muito o fato do personagem ser o típico perdedor do qual você normalmente simpatiza (mais um ponto para o autor, se em "Um dia", ele personificava isso na Emma, aqui ele prova que navega bem nos dois gêneros) e perdoa seus deslizes e atitudes embaraçosas, que não são poucas.
Uma coisa interessante é como o livro ganha qualidade do meio pra frente. Talvez os personagens secundários demoram a mostrar pra que vieram e no final você torce para que eles apareçam cada vez mais, sejam eles habitantes da vida pregressa de Brian, como o Spencer, ou habitantes de sua nova vida, como Rebecca. Vale conferir.
Mas na escrita desse autor, essa trama banal assume novas formas e nuances que te prendem na trama e, aos poucos, criam uma super ligação com o personagem principal, Brian. Ajuda muito o fato do personagem ser o típico perdedor do qual você normalmente simpatiza (mais um ponto para o autor, se em "Um dia", ele personificava isso na Emma, aqui ele prova que navega bem nos dois gêneros) e perdoa seus deslizes e atitudes embaraçosas, que não são poucas.
Uma coisa interessante é como o livro ganha qualidade do meio pra frente. Talvez os personagens secundários demoram a mostrar pra que vieram e no final você torce para que eles apareçam cada vez mais, sejam eles habitantes da vida pregressa de Brian, como o Spencer, ou habitantes de sua nova vida, como Rebecca. Vale conferir.
November 12, 2022
Jag läste En dag i somras och gillade den jättemycket och tänkte att den här skulle vara bra också för det är samma författare men så blev det inte. Den var rolig ibland men annars var den bara irriterande så 3⭐️ är lite för högt betyg tyvärr (men 2 är liiiite för lågt). Det hände typ inget och karaktärerna var ganska jobbiga. Rekommenderar inte.
February 15, 2022
Finalmente o livro acabou! Eu queria ter gostado do livro, queria mesmo. Eu entendi o propósito e a ideia é engraçada, mas não funcionou para mim. Não entendi o humor, não gostei das personagens, e a história é, tal como as personagens, vazia, chata e sem personalidade.
October 21, 2022
It made me a bit nostalgic towards my time at university but I couldn't really connect to the characters and I felt the narrator, Brian, was a bit insufferable and annoyed me.
May 11, 2022
I can’t work out if I like the bloke or not. I think I did
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