false 1859582 0571201717 9780571201716 6 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1189329644m/1859582.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1859582.Mr_Phillips 33359 John Lanchester 557 104 2 0 false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 23:57:26 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 00:05:01 -0700 2009 What I got was a collection of tired clichés about a white collar worker who spends one day walking on the wild side. He's an accountant (of course) which means that he's mild-mannered, sexually frustrated and spends all his time making calculations in his head. That's about it as far as characterisation is concerned.
Having been made redundant on the Friday, he heads into town on the Monday and tries to think of things to do. He goes to watch a porn film (which he finds mechanical and unerotic - how original...), he follows a minor celebrity down the street, and does various other desperately uninteresting things. And then at the end it just stops. No climax, no resolution, no punchline. A couple of amusing scenes near the start break the tedium, admittedly.
Imagine a cross between Diary of a Nobody, Falling Down and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, but with less wit, insight or excitement.]]>