You Say Tomato

by Adrian Plass, Paul McCusker

A collection of letters from George, an Englishman, and Brad, an American. Through their amusing correspondence they attempt to unravel the mysteries and sort out the cultural differences of the two countries divided by a common religion.

Genres: Humor

145 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1995

About the author

Adrian Plass is a writer and speaker who has produced over thirty books in the last twenty years. The best known of these is probably The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, a gentle satire on the modern church, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. This and other books have travelled to other countries and are translated into a number of foreign languages. Other books include biography, novels, short stories, a fictionalised account of the author's experiences as a residential child care worker, and collections of poems and sketches. A bemused Anglican, Adrian lives with his wife and daughter in a small market town near the Sussex South Downs.

Adrian has been in demand as a speaker in venues as varied as prisons, schools, churches, festivals, literary dinners and theatrical settings. His work also includes contribution to national and local radio and television. Live presentations combine humour, poetry, and story telling, largely revolving around his own inadequacies and struggles as a Christian and a human being.

In recent years Adrian has been joined by his wife Bridget in presenting a more varied and dramatic style of performance. Adrian and Bridget met at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and have found particular satisfaction in being allowed to ‘do a bit of acting’. They have also been privileged to work alongside World Vision on several occasions, visiting Bangladesh and Zambia, writing two books and touring both in the UK and abroad with the aim of encouraging people to take up child sponsorship

Their work now takes them as far away as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, while trips to Europe have introduced the added dimension of speaking through interpreters. Not easy when you're trying to be funny!

Adrian's latest books include ‘Jesus Safe Tender and Extreme‘, published by Zondervan, ‘Blind Spots in the Bible’, published by BRF, and most recent of all ‘Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation’ published by Authentic Media. He and Bridget have also collaborated with friends in Canada to produce a CD of his favourite sketches from the last 20 years called ‘Preaching to the Converted’ while ‘A Touch of Plass’, CTA’s documentary video, is now out on DVD.

2008 began with a visit to Bolivia for Bridget and Adrian in collaboration with the charity Toybox to look at projects involving street children. Later on there will be a DVD, a book and a number of presentations promoting their work.

Adrian's central motivation continues to be his love for Jesus, although some may feel he expresses it rather eccentrically. His passion is to communicate the need for reality in faith, and a truth that he learned during a difficult stage in his life: "God is nice and he likes me..." Some have described his work as being ‘one long confessional’. They may well be right!

Reviews

[Sue]

This is a thoughtful discussion, cloaked in satire, of cultural differences within Christian circles on both sides of the Atlantic. George and Brad are two fictional young men who decide to write to each other....the book details their correspondence.

It’s a cleverly written book. Cultural differences are touched upon several times, most relevant to Christians who are familiar with church settings, but much would be relevant to others too. There’s no real plot as such; it’s character-based, charting a year's journey, seeing Brad starting to come to terms with a bereavement, and George writing about why he lost his faith. There were a few places where I smiled, one where I chuckled slightly, and one where I was moved almost to tears.

There are caricatures, of course; both correspondents use humour and satire to cover embarrassment or hurt. My only problem with the book is that the styles and characters came across, sometimes, as too similar. But overall I enjoyed it very much, more so than when I first read it about twenty years ago.

[Stephanie Fosnight Regester]

I really think this is a gem. Not only is it funny in its observations on the church in America and England, but it is very moving and, while many of the references are dated, the topics are still very relevant today. A short but somehow quite satisfying read. To quote our friend Brad, it "scratches an itch."

[Liz]

Interesting, but very expositional. I own it because it's Adrian Plass and semi-humorous, but quite honestly, it's far from the best thing he's ever produced. I feel so sorry for the other author of this book that we always forget... I think his name's Paul Somebody. See, now I've gone and done it!