Don't Read This Book If You're Stupid

by Tibor Fischer

Book Overview

A dazzling collection of short fiction, containing stories published in New Writing and the Times Literary Supplement, as well as several new stories. The Novella 'I Like being Killed' takes the lid off the comedy scene in London, investigates where jokes come from and how you can make people laugh with only one toothpick and a foreskin. Other stories visit Brixton prison and German bookshops, contemplate the tanning of Russian bottoms on the C te d'Azur, offer advice on driving during Romanian revolutions, explain what to do with fifty uselessnesses, give tips on successful and painless serial killing and demonstrate conclusively that no-one should live in South London.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099283123
• ISBN13: 9780099283126
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Buy This Book, You Morons

Tibor Fischer is one of the three greatest living British novelists, a modern day Celine who makes the majority of his peers look like they write with Scrabble boards. "We Ate The Chef", the first story in this collection, is hilarious, sad and above all VERY true.

I'm stupid

I should have paid more attention to the title. It is the same book as the one titled " I Like Being Killed" I must be stupid for buying this one.Anyway, Fischer is one of my favorite authors. I really enjoyed "The Collector Collector" and "The Thought Gang."Both were superb -much better than this collection of stories.

hurts when I laugh

the first story in this collection is so true to a certain type of life, and yet so hilarious. the language is is casual and deft, like a expert twist of the knife, sliding right into your heart. and then he makes you laugh. the following stories are somewhat more abstract, but the laugh factor is even higher. recommended for those who like their reading with a light touch of acid.

Positively WICKED

A wonderful introduction to Fischer's other books! It was the first Fischer book I had read, and I was instantly enthralled by his grasp of the characters. He has a real talent for getting inside the characters, and even if you hate them, you can't manage to put the book down. A truly incredible display of Fischer's wicked sense of humor!

The Darker Side Of An Observant Mind

If you haven't read any Fischer... start... NOW!!! If you have read him before, then I probably don't need to coerce you into reading this one. This collection of short stories is the darkest thing Tibor has published. All of the characters face futility, are aware of it, and have no idea how to deal or to change it. There is no Eddie Coffin here (from the Thought Gang). Instead you have a collection on the brink, trying to find some purpose to the ticking clock that has lead us into the new millenium. Not that this book is by any means merely a somber tomb of anxiety. There are some extremely funny passages as anyone who has read Tibor will know to expect, but this book doesn't find humor in the mindless slapstick. It feels around for it in the dark crevices of humanity. There isn't a story in this volumn that doesn't carry it's weight, just as Atlas had to carry his. I highly recommend you read Tibor. You may not want to start with this one (try Under The Frog or the comic The Thought Gang), but do get to this one. You wont regret it and if you do, does it really matter? Ask the Bookcruncher