All Ears

by Michael Holden, Andy Watt (Illustrations)

As the author of All Ears will freely admit, there’s nothing dignified about listening to other people’s conversations, especially if these are thrust upon us as we stand in crowded London bus, packed sardine-style with complete strangers shouting into their mobile phones. No one, however, has ever attempted to raise eavesdropping to an art form, or recognize what verbal gems are being thrown around us every minute of our waking urban existence. Gathered for the first time in a volume, and accompanied by Andy Watt’s iconic illustrations, are Michael Holden’s hit "stolen dialogues," which readers of the Saturday Guardian —where they were serialized since April 2005—will immediately recognize. The locations vary—ranging from Scotland to the South Coast—but the focus is on the teeming city of London, with its noisy and multifarious inhabitants, directly presented here in all its quirkiness, showing how unusual and unscriptable everyday conversation can at times be. The book includes previously unpublished vignettes, 15 color illustrations by Andy Watt, scene-setting descriptions for each dialogue, and a map identifying the location of each conversation.

191 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Steve Mitchell]

Michael Holden’s All Ears is a collection of his columns that appear in each Saturday’s Guardian in the Guide section. If you have ever heard a couple of people talking too loudly out in public about stuff that should better be discussed in private or somebody that has not grasped that they may not be at home when they talk on their mobile then this is the book for you. This is really funny and contains material that could keep Channel Five in documentaries for years!

[Rose]

I was disappointed by this book: the conversations it relates just weren't particularly funny or even, for the most part, interesting. Compared to Overheard In New York, which has made me collapse with laughter many times, this just isn't worth the effort.

[Alejandra]

I thought this was tedious.

[Fazackerly Toast]

I got this because it was only 1p plus postage, but I think the columns that I used to read in the Guardian were funnier