false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173720588m/317456.jpg 317456 18 Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanizing, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too. Fired from his newspaper, months behind on his alimony payments and disgusted with a world that undervalues him, Ted seeks a few months of repose and free drinks at Swafford Hall, the country mansion of his old friend Lord Logan.<br><br>But strange things have been going on at Swafford. Miracles. Healings. Phenomena beyond the comprehension of a mud-caked hippopotamus like Ted. 956259 1994 The Hippopotamus total:664|5:137|4:249|3:205|2:55|1:18| 664 2424 976 66 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 14:51:46 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 15:15:48 -0700 2007
Other reviews led me to believe that the plot would be very loose and mucky. Going into it with low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised when there was a p...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 20:03:27 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 20:24:51 -0700 2009
I have faith in a great many things, most of all in literature and authors I admire. So I had faith that the first novel I read from Stephen Fry would allow me to revel in awe of one of the most sophisticated and witty w...more...]]> 3 3 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Jun 04 17:03:23 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 23:02:32 -0700 2009 The Hippopotamus is clearly based on the late Kingsley Amis, and you can view the whole book as a kind of homage to him. It's a first-person narrative; it starts off with the hero being sacked from his job as a theatre critic for y...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Mar 15 15:27:53 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 15:40:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 11:29:07 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 12:31:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 09:48:07 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 06:22:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 13:16:08 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 13:17:13 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jan 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 16:04:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 23:20:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 25 01:40:01 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 02:02:18 -0700 2009
Fry weaves a quite decent plot, with quirky characters, and contemporary themes, sprinkled with enough bad words, to make it sound real :). Quite a gripping nar...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 05:59:02 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 06:00:45 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 19 07:38:47 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 07:40:10 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Aug 03 18:44:10 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 18:46:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Mar 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 09:21:52 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 09:24:38 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 04 01:08:46 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 01:11:24 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 04:53:27 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 19 10:59:37 -0800 2007
Then it got . . . weird. I was okay with the weird.

Then at the end there was a big detective-story reveal. You know, the whole explain-everything-at-dinner rigmarole. Wh...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Jun 24 19:38:53 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 24 19:47:50 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Feb 10 16:45:52 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 16:45:52 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Dec 15 19:40:17 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 19:44:51 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 10 01:12:30 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 01:13:41 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Feb 13 09:26:42 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 09:35:58 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=317456