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You Wouldn't Be Dead For Quids (Les Norton, #1)

Robert G. Barrett

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Mar 02, 2011 Tien rated it really liked it

Shelves: short-stories, australia, australian-author, bookmooch

The two things you'd have to keep in mind when reading this book is that it's the 80s and Les Norton is an absolutely true blue Aussie ;)

Being Aussie, it's all about the idea of 'fair go and you just gotta be able to take a piss at yourself. I reckon this is what this book is all about.

The book seriously surprised me; was completely off my rocker! It's a lot more funny than I ever expected it to be (even though it's mostly polictically incorrect), heaped with violence (again keep in mind that i The two things you'd have to keep in mind when reading this book is that it's the 80s and Les Norton is an absolutely true blue Aussie ;)

Being Aussie, it's all about the idea of 'fair go and you just gotta be able to take a piss at yourself. I reckon this is what this book is all about.

The book seriously surprised me; was completely off my rocker! It's a lot more funny than I ever expected it to be (even though it's mostly polictically incorrect), heaped with violence (again keep in mind that it's the 80s in Kings Cross and Norton is a bouncer), lots of drinking (& drink driving! *grimace*), sex, and "fair dinkum" peppered throughout the book.

About Les:
...he was just a shade under six feet... he did have exceptionally long, think sinewy arms covered in bristly red hairs and at the end of them dangled two massive gnarled hands, the fingers literally like Fijian bananas, the knuckles like fifty cent coins...

As far as looks go Les wasn't ugly, but he was no Robert Redford either. His scrubby red hair topped a pair of dark, brooding eyes set in a wide square face, and with his lantern jaw and the mandatory broken nose of a bouncer Les looked pretty much exactly what he was. His one outstanding feature was a pair of immensely bushy eyebrows, that caused the owner of the casino where Les worked to nickname him Yosemite Sam after a character in the Bugs Bunny show on TV. And whenever Les was about to go into action with his fists those big bushy eyebrows would bristle like the hairs on a dog's back.

And lastly, just a sample of "politically incorrect" Aussie humor (LOL)
'Turn it up Billy,' replied Norton, 'I wouldn't be seen dead with that big fat thing.'

'She's not that fat.'

'Not that fat? She looks like some one's been up her arse with a bike-pump. If she ever fell over she'd rock herself to sleep trying to get back up.'

'Now she's not that bad.'

'Not that bad. Have a look at her big fat head. She's got more chins than the Hong Kong phone book. I reckon if there was a peeping-tom in her neighbourhood he'd pull her blind down.' ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2008 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Jun 24, 2010 Kylie Daniels rated it really liked it

Nov 16, 2018 Hpstrangelove marked it as to-read

Shelves: audiobook

Aug 22, 2019 Zimbellina marked it as wants

Nov 05, 2019 Chip marked it as audible

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