ARmy Rumour SErvice

101 things not to do before you die.

As you can probably guess from the title, this is not a serious book; it’s a parody of all those bucket list books that seem to be quite popular at present. As such,, it written in a almost a “grumpy old man” style in the first person.

The author is currently Head of Comedy at Hat Trick Productions which is the TV company responsible for Have I Got News for You, so that gives an idea of his comedic influences, though this book was actually released in 2008, though the book is not obviously dated, there is a reference to a Tory MP as a member of the opposition.

I must admit that I agree with the main theme of this book that there are far too many lists of things I must do before I die in order to complete my life. Probably not too strange because after a fairly busy life so far all I want is some peace and quiet not some tosser telling me what else I need to tick off having done.

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If you are familiar with the author, then you will have some idea of what to expect. If you have never heard of him, then it could be a treat for you.

Assuming that some are not familiar with Mr Kermode, let me tell you a little about him. He is a journalist, a film critic and a broadcaster. He regurlarly broadcasts on Radio 5Live with Stuart Machonie, he took over from the excrebale Jonathon Ross on Film 2011 ( and subsequent numbers) and has written for The Guardian and The New Statesman amongst other newspapers. And he loves film.
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This is the fourth in a series of originally Polish-language crime novels based around the character of Hauptmann Eberhard Mock of the Abwehr. The reviewer was at a slight disadvantage in not having read any of the other novels about the character, but internal context provided sufficient background to make sensible judgement possible. The novel is set in Germany and Poland in 1937 to 1939, during the last few years of roughly normal existence before the start of World War Two.

The first thing to note about this rather interesting novel is that the translation is odd. Whether the original Polish was convoluted, or whether Polish, for whatever reason, is not well-suited to idiomatic translation into English, the resultant text is peculiar. The prose limps and a number of what one takes to be Polish idioms are rendered literally into English; the voice and tone are inconsistent and it is occasionally the case that one suspects one has missed a nuance through a failure to understand the translator's intent. The narrative itself remains fairly clear, though and the reader looking for story over style will be well-served.

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