Fat (GOLLANCZ S.F.) - Softcover

Grant, Rob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575078200 ISBN 13: 9780575078208

Publisher: Gollancz, 2007

Synopsis

Rob Grant's new novel is a revelation. After INCOMPETENCE we would all have expected a killingly funny satire. And in its satire of our obsession with body image, of how the media makes us what we are FAT is certainly that. But in its depiction of Grenville, a fat man at his wits end with the need to be thin; of Hayleigh, a teenage girl obsessed with her terror of being fat and of Jeremy, the self-absorbed, self-adoring 'conceptualist' employed to promote the government's new 'Fat Farms' Rob Grant has given us, yes a very, very funny book, but also an immensely moving and personal novel about how we all feel about our bodies. As Grenville deals with the humilation and daily indignity of being fat, as Hayleigh struggles to deal with her anorexia and as Jeremy comes to terms with the dangerous lies at the centre of the government's new health regime FAT takes us on a hilarious and thought-provoking journey through our all-consuming obession with fat. This is a hilariously moving, movingly hilarious novel and marks a massive step-change in Rob Grant's growth as a writer. Here is a hugely commerical new voice in mainstream, high concept, high in poly-saturates, commercial fiction. It's also safe to say that with this new novel, he's writing about what he knows ...

About this title

About the Author

Rob Grant was born in Salford. Determined not to let them hold him back he (after a protracted period doing any old thing) went on to co-create and write with Doug Naylor the astonishingly successful TV series RED DWARF. He also wrote the DARK AGES and STRANGERERS TV series.

Review

"Both hilarious and intelligent. Fat is an ambitious picture of a society where greed fights a never-ending battle with the struggle for a slim, well-toned body. The fashion in which Rob Grant juggles his characters as they pursue their disparate destinies has the invention of a novelist from a very different generation: Evelyn Waugh." -- Barry Forshaw THE EXPRESS "If there's a message here, it's to throw away the diet book and embrace your sexy swagger. Considering Rob Grant is a fat bloke himself, his portrayal of Hayleigh and her anorexia is a complete triumph. She's the real heart of the story and Grant charts her rapid decline with both insight and humour." -- Henry Sutton DAILY MIRROR "Grant's made a leap forward as an author here. Thought-provoking, moving and hilarious." -- Guy Haley SFX "Incisive, bitingly funny and thought provoking. Grant is a funny writer with a knack for some wicked one-liners. A novel that should make everyone sit up and think." BIRMINGHAM POST "You could accuse Rob Grant of having an axe to grind. He is, after all, no stick insect himself. But in the bitingly satirical FAT, he raise so many thought-provoking points about body image and the scare stories we're given about health issues, you have to admit he's done his homework. Besides which, when a book's this funny, what's wrong with a bit of axe grinding?" -- Dave Golder BBC FOCUS "A roller coaster ride with plenty of laughs and much to recommend it." WOOD & VALE Grant crafts a good read out of a subject clearly close to his heart. A satirical bite worthy of Ben Elton." -- Dean Patrick DREAMWATCH "Though vaguely similar in approach to Ben Elton's novels, it is a funny book. He crushes the cholesterol lie, the salt myth, the BMI con and a few other epidemiological scams based on shoddy statistics and rubbishy thinking - all for our own good, of course." -- Andrew McKie THE TELEGRAPH "A tasty trim novel that hasn't been superfluously fleshed out." -- Ed Perkins The Daily Echo "Grant's knack of injecting humour into the bleakest scenario makes for a read that's as addictive as an MSG-laced takeaway." IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY "There's plenty of food for thought to chew over here: while it may not satisfy the appetite for 'Red Dwarf' fans, it's way beyond mere fast food fiction. An interesting read." VENUE

About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0575078200
• ISBN 13: 9780575078208
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336