The Big R

Praise for The Big
All the makings of a classic sitcom….
The Big R is a contemporary romantic comedy novel about a guy who, upon receiving an invitation to his school reunion, suffers almost simultaneous relationship failure and redundancy, and so sets himself the goal of finding a new job and girlfriend in time for the reunion.
The hilarious comedy comes from his misguided efforts to overcome his setbacks before the looming deadline of the reunion and this is where the story excels.
Every rookie needs a wingman and encouraged by his flatmates, Craig and Melissa, into taking the advice of ‘Dirty’ Barry (A guy whose chat-up line is Go ahead, make my day!), Evan takes the plunge into the world of online dating.
But Barry’s eternal optimism soon clashes with Evan’s mounting pessimism to produce some truly comic and laugh out loud embarrassing moments. Despite the noblest of intentions, Evan seems to meet misfortune at every turn leaving the reader wondering if he’ll ever reach his goal.
The characterisation is very good with all characters well rounded and engaging. You can’t help caring about Evan and hoping he’ll find that someone special, just as you can’t fail to smile at Barry’s unquenchable optimism. The flat-mates Craig and Melissa are both well drawn and add considerable depth to the main plot line which culminates in an ending that certainly departs from the cliché happily ever after but also resolves the story in a surprising yet satisfactory manner.
The author writes well and whilst the humorous elements are clearly a forte, the remaining narrative of the book is competently executed. There are no plot gaps or confusing passages, the story develops coherently at a good pace, and is engaging throughout, with Evan and Barry’s dating miss-haps the highlight.
Fans of books such as High Fidelity, or Bridget Jones will do doubt love this book and singletons and serial daters alike of both sexes will identify with a lot of the themes and situations that crop up in the book.
It appears that The Big R is the first of a series as the final page announces Dirty Barry will return in a sequel, Mr 80’s, much in the style of the end credits of a James Bond movie. If this is true, I will thoroughly look forward to reading about the further adventures of Evan, Craig, Melissa, and most of all, Dirty Barry in Mr 80’s.

R is Relationships…Redundancy…Reunions…Romance…Redemption
School reunions can be tough, nobody wants to look like a failure. But when you lose your girlfriend (to an odious, but very good looking kick-boxer) and then your IT job (With the world’s worst Stationary supplier) in quick succession, a school reunion is the last thing you need.
Press-ganged by his flatmates, Craig and Melissa, and with the sage-like advice of ‘Dirty’ Barry (A guy whose chat-up line is Go ahead, make my day!), Evan takes the plunge into the world of online dating and job hunting.
But with an almost Kamikaze approach to romance, and each date and job interview an even bigger disaster than the last, can Evan crack the code of online dating and bag that elusive IT job? Can Evan stop the Big R becoming the Big Argh!?
The Big R asks the What defines failure? Is there really such a thing as a soul mate? And should you really take dating advice from a man called ‘Dirty’ Barry?