Who's Who in Hell

by Robert Chalmers

Who's Who in Hell is a compelling, uproarious, and achingly moving story about what happens when our plans for life meet its plans for us. Written with a keen eye and enormous heart that call to mind David Schickler, Nick Hornby, and early Roddy Doyle, Who's Who in Hell is a novel with a voice all its own. Daniel Linnell is a charming, rather hapless young man until he meets Laura -- an unsettlingly feisty American who likes to parachute out of planes on weekends. Recently fired from a job as a relatively unskilled counselor for London's desperate, he meets Laura one night in a bar and quickly finds himself falling for her. At the same time, he finds a new job as an obituarist and is caught up in the day-to-day life of the oddballs who produce a major London daily newspaper. His editor, Whittington, a dyed-in-the-wool English eccentric, initiates him into the pecking order of obituarists vs. news reporters vs. the sports desk; the annual ritual of the drunken Obituaries Outing with all of the octogenarian history buffs who provide their research; and the secret cache of unexpurgated obits of the less-than-angelic, obits that will never see print -- which Whittington keeps in a hollowed-out book in his office. With Whittington's encouragement, Daniel begins to write a Who's Who in Hell -- a mammoth compendium of the evil and damned. Begun for his own amusement, the book takes on a momentum of its own and garners him a publisher's advance. He goes to Kansas to meet Laura's parents. Things are all going beautifully. But it's always then that things have a way of changing. Who's Who in Hell is a delightfully antic, deeply moving novel that captures the joys and agonies of love and the perverse deceptions and unanticipated highs and lows of life. It is sure to establish Robert Chalmers as one of the brightest young writers out of Britain.

Genres: Fiction, Humor

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2002

About the author

Robert Chalmers lives in London and writes for British GQ and The Independent.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

"To sit on a moving train and stare out of the window, Daniel had read somewhere, is to have all the sins of your life come down on your shoulders. Something happened to him on trains and - though it would begin with a subdued contemplation of his past - things didn't usually stop there. Depending on his mood and the length of the journey, he would often move on to be gripped by a powerful desire to reorder his life."

Don't let the title of this novel trick you: it stems from the title of a book our idiosyncratic narrator and obituaries writer is completing. The events in this novel are about as erratic as the choices Daniel and Laura make, but this is what makes it appealing. For me, it all started with a bottle of Sancerre wine. Yes, during this shelter-in-place, this is what it took to lure me. I read and imagined a cold glass on a sunny day in Paris that won't happen. But I digress, just like the POV in this novel does. On page 49, the POV suddenly changes in a bemusing way. A paragraph could be laden with backstory and story, minor characters appear and some of them you wish would stick around, like Carlton, a homeless man with chutzpah. The writer has a way of saving the subject for the end of sentences, which could take a longer time for the point to be made.

The book is as much about Daniel, a therapist-turned-waiter-turned-writer, as it is about his girlfriend-turned-wife, Laura. I wanted Daniel to remain a therapist, for I really enjoyed going along with him to work. He meets Laura and she turns out to be a free spirit with much to be admired. She lays her flaws on the table and this is refreshing to see in a novel, refreshing to see in life. Her character is well drawn and believable, as is the disheveled relationship they build upon when they both try to become better versions of themselves. Laura and Daniel build a life together in an apartment above a bar, and they also decide to have a child, Jack. Daniel, a European, visits America to meet Laura's family in Kansas, and there he comes to grips with why his sweetheart is so unique; alas, much of who we become stems from childhood. Tragedy occurs here at the end, saddening stuff, which makes one wonder what the author really is saying about Laura's whims after all. This was an entertaining read about individualistic love and how circumstances shape life.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the quotes on the back of the book likened it to John Irving, one of my all time favorite authors. The comparison is a good one. I actually laughed out loud (always good for scaring others riding the bus), and underlined some of my favorite passages to enjoy later. Like Irving, Chalmers has a gift for producing fully formed minor characters that populate the text and give his novels depth and flavor. Other reviewers have compared Chalmers to Nick Hornby, but the comparison to Irving is more spot-on: Chalmers handles comedy, tragedy and the weirdness of everyday life with equal skill. I was totally in love with the novel until the last quarter, when it began to run out of steam and became somewhat unbelievable, not in the sense of our reality, but in the sense of the reality he had created for the characters in the book. The end was still quite good, and about 40 pages shouldn't discourage readers who enjoy the style of Irving or Hornby to give Chalmers a try. I look forward to reading his next book, where I expect his talents to have matured even more.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had a lot of trouble articulating exactly why I didn't like this book very much. It's not truly a novel in the sense that it is a story where a character, or characters, go on any kind of "journey." It basically just follows the life of Daniel Linnell during the 5+ years he is with his girlfriend/wife, Laura. The problem is that there is nothing very compelling about their relationship. They basically just hang out in the same bar all the time with their boring, quasi-hipster friends. He spends most of his days worrying that Laura will cheat on him (which she does), and that she will eventually leave (which she also does in a way). Ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophesy, Danny Boy?

Contrary to what the title of the book implies, Daniel abandons his work, "Who's Who in Hell" (a complilation of obituaries for famous villains), about half way through the story. There are also several improbable, and rather confusing plot twists that I won't bother going into on the grounds that I do not want to ruin the few interesting parts of the novel.

[Joseph Pinchback · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like really cynical stories with unlikeable characters, then this is the novel for you. I thought that it started strong but unfortunately veered way off the tracks in the second half. By the end, this novel is just a complete mess.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit disjointed. It wasn't what I was hoping for or expected from the synopsis at the back. I thought it was going to have supernatural elements but it didn't. didn't even stay with the book the character was writing. sometimes there was insight into the thoughts/lives of other characters but I feel that didn't start til Part 2 of the book. I was also not thrilled with the lead female character and had a hard time caring/sympathizing. There was so much going in the book that didn't really seem to blend well. Found this book at an antique store and it will probably soon be joining the world's book rotation soon enough again...

[Lizpeveto · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was on a recommended book list I use and wish I had not. This is one of those books that after the first 50 pages, you think, it has got to get better. Then you get farther along and it is no better. Then you finish it just to see the ending. A British counselor/bartender/
obituary writer falls in love w/ Laura and their relationship and life is boring. A sad ending to finish the tale. Remember that any review is just an one reader's opinion and other people probably LOVE the author; but I just cannot join his fan club. If there was a minus star, this would be chosen.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

While an interesting concept of an obituary writer deciding to make a book of all the bigwigs in hell, both the living and the dead, the book itself fell flat. Overall it was confusing written and was dense to read. Part 2 seemed to not relate to part 1 at all other than there were some of the same characters. Ended up putting the book down with about 50 pages left just because I was not into the story and could not see it getting better by the end.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only picked up this book because the author happens to share a name with someone I know. It starts out reasonably interesting but then veers wildly off course about half-way through and ends up just being pointless. There were just enough interesting quirks in minor characters and other digressions to save this from a one-star rating.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked this book more but the ending really didn't do it for me. I also felt that a lot of the interesting aspects of his job were unrelated to the main story line. Maybe it should have been two more thoughtful books but it was not a bad read.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at a used book sale. It was both heartening and heart wrenching, funny and sad. The characters weren't always likeable, but I think that was on purpose. You couldn't help but love Daniel, in his lost, bumbling, British way. Worth reading.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that reject the fairytale ending!

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title is the best part.

Only finished it because I’m a completist.

Heard it’s morphing into a movie - must have been sold by its title.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Big spoilers ahead**

This is very much not the book I thought it was/would be but was pleasantly surprised. This book is mainly about two people of debatable likability, their romance, child, affair, and ultimately one of their deaths.

The Who’s Who in Hell book is a small, relatively insignificant, part of the plot. Really this is a story about Daniel (the protagonist) and Laura (his other half). It tracks their meeting, romance, parenthood, infidelity, and ultimately Laura’s unexpected death.

The book is surprisingly moving and draws you in in little bits. It’s not a super easy read, and definitely not an unemotional one, but it is not a difficult read. It takes a little bit to get into it and get used to the characters but once you do you are invested. I bought this book on a whim in a charity shop because I liked the title and blurb on the back sounded interesting which, I have to say, was in my opinion misleading. Yet I am not disappointed. I would not jump in to read it again. There was nothing life changing about it. This is not one of those books you *have* to get a friend to read so you can talk about it. It is however a well written, well structured, and engaging story about life. Not the extremes or the caricatures but just more of an every day average Joe life, which in and of itself makes it more relatable.

[Sophie Glazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

At what point, I wonder, does the divine afflatus devolve into mere windbaggery? I have recently read three novels, each a lean, focused, elegant narrative bloated into a gigantic doorstopper of a book, to the tale’s own detriment. “Who’s Who in Hell,” by Robert Chalmers, is an ingenious satire set in the obituary department of a British newspaper, where the writers compose horrifically frank exposes of the Great and Famous and entomb them in a file cabinet, publishing only the most decorously edited version of the Great Man’s life. The tale whizzes along brilliantly to its denoument, when a real death—the death of somebody they know and love—turns their expectations topsy-turvy. It’s a brilliant concept, but somewhere along the line Mr. Chalmers decided to send his obituarist to America, where Chalmers’ social commentary became bland and obvious: he lost his way, and never quite found it again.

[Eva Hertzberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to even rate. Both loved and hated it. I do think there is a potentially great novel within this book, but that say 1/3 could have been edited off it. Also annoyed by the habit of calling some characters by different names without any logic to it that I could find, like the main character being randomly (?) referred to by sometimes first, sometimes last name. Why? At the same time, I loved some of the characters and understand the comparisons some readers have made of this novel to John Irving - who I just love. Just very, very mixed feelings now. A weak 3 and stable 4, without being a 3,5.

[Michael O'Leary · Rating 1 out of 5]

" compelling, uproarious, and achingly moving story about what happens when our plans for life meet its plans for us." That is not the book I am reading. I will do a more detailed analysis when I have finished reading.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just...very good. Reminded me of extremely loud and incredibly close. Other than the annoying habit of calling the same people by different names (thus making me have to remember both their first and last names) it was a book I read in one 10-hour sitting (thanks, cross-continental flight).

Also had bits which reminded me of when you re-watch a movie and noticed or understood little parts after the fact. Woo.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a wonderful read. Extremely funny at times, lightly funny the rest of the time, and absolutely wrenching towards the end, this is an amazing work. It’s meant to be a comedy, and it is, but it works more for me as a very insightful look into certain personalities. This was just marvellous. In the end, it was incredibly moving as well. He's got quite a touch.

[Brooke Binkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was okay while I was reading it but, like the movie Napoleon Dynamite, haunted me afterward until I found myself quoting it to unsuspecting people. I liked it a lot, although I suspect that the entire plot was developed as a joke in order to befuddle those horrible people who read the last page first. Yes, I read the last page first, dammit.

[Alex Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

The basic story is a simple boy-meets-girl love story. On the way, there are a series of events which can appear disconnected and sometimes left me wondering whether I'd missed something. The unconventionality began to feel a bit forced towards the end. Some good touches of humour and the book wasn't afraid to handle difficult subjects.

[Lindsey James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is such an overlooked treasure, one of my favorites. So subtly witty, and so moving. It may be a bit hard to get into initially, but is well worth it. This is one I've re-read 3 or 4 times since first picking it up in 2003; each time I appreciate it more.

[NicoleE · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange little book

[Christin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Establish cool premise. Abandon cool premise. Repeat.

[Laurent Szklarz]

The only thing that saves this book is the hilarious writing in some of its parts.