Beta Male

by Iain Hollingshead

Sam Hunt is a confused modern male in his very late twenties. A work-shy, commitment-phobic would-be actor, he is beginning to worry that turning thirty might just be the last straw. Flatmate Alan, the sensible one, has just been proposed to by his girlfriend Jess, with his femme fatale boss looking on with a saucy gleam in her eye. Newly-dumped Ed spends his time tearfully watching 'Sex and the City' in a pile of his ex-girlfriend's pyjamas and plotting his revenge. Meanwhile unemployed doctor Matt embarks on a dubious bet with Sam to see who can be the first to ensnare a rich wife and enjoy a life of leisure... Are your carefree twenties a retreating memory? Are your friends discussing children and fixed-rate mortgages while you clutch your Xbox, sobbing? You're not the only one. 'Beta Male' is a riotously funny and painfully honest chronice about friendship, masculinity, marriage and the beginning of the end of the beginning of adulthood.

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2010

About the author

Iain writes feature articles for a range of publications, The Daily Telegraph in particular. Until recently, he also wrote a regular column called Loose Ends in Saturday's Guardian. He has taken part in a number of radio shows, including BBC Radio 4's Today programme and You and Yours.

His father is a GP and his mother is a surgeon. He has one elder brother. He went to Eton from 1993-98. Iain graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 with a first class degree in History. He worked for a year in Westminster - at Vote 2004 and the private office of Michael Howard - before pursuing a full-time career as a journalist. Vote 2004 was described in the Sunday Telegraph as the "most successful political campaign of all time". Iain was runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards as Columnist of the Year. While at university he also founded and edited The Cambridge Slapper - a popular satirical magazine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Ho...

Reviews

[Julie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book as I wasn't expecting a lot from it for some reason. But it ended up so amusing, I was quite won over and gulped it down in almost a single sitting. I found it to be like a really good funny chick lit book, but written from the guys perspective by a guy, which made it very unique...yet so familiar at the same time because certainly some of those chick lit tropes are there, just coming at you in a new way....and also a lot of this stuff transcends gender, really, anyone, guy or girl, can relate. It also had emotional depth, emotional sensitivity, tho in a very 'guy' way. Never read anything quite like it, it rather defies genres--a;feat that always impresses me. I like reading new things and fresh takes. also I'm a big fan of witty sarcasm and brit humor...A lot of fun!

[Teauhna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like it wants to be a RomCom-ish film or a stage play. Fun, but hard for an American woman in her 40s to relate to. Not surprising since I'm probably not the target audience! I like it. I'd like it better in film or play form, TBH. Simple read.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally laugh out loud funny. Sort of a gender swapped 21st century Emma? Well paced with a few swerves that subvert expectations.

Seeing that Hollingshead hasn’t written a novel since which is further evidence for my theory that the breezy comic novel is the hardest genre to write.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny read about navigating relationships and dealing with becoming an "adult". Though the story mainly focuses on relationships that eventually lead to marriage, it also touches on the changes that occur once one person in a group of friends become engaged or married. It is quite a realistic take on a lot of twenty-somethings out there. Being a twenty-something myself, I found that I could relate to a lot of the worries that our four main characters deal with even though I am on the other side of the gender spectrum. Seeing a close friend in a serious relationship while you are still single makes you wonder if you are missing out. Engagements and marriages are a whole other level or bewilderment as it really signifies that things are changing permanently. Overall I thought it was fun.

[Nick Sheridan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The problem with reading about a group of absolute gobshites getting their comeuppance or evolving as people, is that you have to spend time with those gobshites in the interim.

Seriously though, I found nothing to like about any of the main four inherently flawed characters that would make me forgive their flaws, and they are all written a little too similar, a little too confident of their words and banter.

There needed to be something to engage with other than the desire to not be in the room with them.

Not for me.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did laugh out loud at some points, the book on the whole was...blah...It reminded me of what The Office (American style) has turned into-bits of funny but disappointment in the end.

[Bill H · Rating 3 out of 5]

One memorable line: "Life is short, you have to chase the anecdote."

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite funny, entertaining, not as good as previous book though.