Starter For Ten (the Debut Novel By The Author Of One Day And You Are Here)

By (author) David Nicholls
Short description/annotation:

A comedy about love, class, growing up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom.
The debut novel by beloved bestselling author David Nicholls.

Description:

Starter for Ten: the Sunday Times-bestselling comedy about love, class, growing up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom
''Painfully funny''
ELLE

''Hugely entertaining''
DAILY MAIL

''Wincingly good''
TIME OUT

It''s 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition - to make it onto TV''s foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on ''The Challenge'' than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress Alice Harbinson.

When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all: he''s going to win the game, at any cost. Because - after all - everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge . . .


ONE OF BRITAIN''S MOST ACCLAIMED WRITERS
''One of the most astute chroniclers of England as it is now''
FINANCIAL TIMES

''An uncanny ability to make us laugh out loud, but also care passionately about his characters''
DAILY TELEGRAPH

''Nicholls writes with such tender precision about love''
THE TIMES

''No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does''
EVENING STANDARD

''Genuinely brilliant''
NEW STATESMAN
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Clever and well-written . . . Nicholls'' portrayal of student affectations is accurate and funny
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Brilliant . . . we would recommend it to anyone
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A funny, touching novel reminiscent of the classic film Gregory''s Girl with an authentic 1980s backdrop
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Hugely entertaining
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Nicholls delineates the whole university experience . . . But he does the serious bits well, too, and the fatherless teenager pulling himself up by his bootstraps, hopelessly out of his depth, is warmly evoked
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A bittersweet coming-of-age tale . . . A fine, funny book
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I laughed a lot
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Wincingly good . . . spry, affecting
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Hilarious . . . you won''t be able to put it down
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Painfully funny
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I feel for Starter for Ten as I do for the pick''n''mix counter: nostalgic, giddy, happy, sick and then devastated when there is none left. I could not put this book down. I love it. Literally
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Warm and funny . . . hilarious
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Highly engaging
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Wonderful . . . Nicholls recreates all the cringingly embarrassing moments students endure on the university bandwagon - the wild parties, tentative friendships and romantic interludes - with superb powers of characterisation. It''s a fun-filled trip down memory lane for all students, with more than a touch of pathos
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Hugely (and deservedly) hyped . . . Achingly funny
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I laughed out loud, I cringed in recognition, and more than once I paused in admiration at an observation so wry, so on the money, I wondered why it had never occurred to me before
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For conjuring up al