{"product_id":"9780857529626-word-monkey","title":"Word Monkey","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A delight . a glorious, witty and life-affirming ragbag of autobiography, cultural commentary and hard-won wisdom.' \u003c\/b\u003eANDREW TAYLOR, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Shadows of London\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Perceptive, wise and illuminating . a\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003en unmissable farewell.' \u003c\/b\u003eBarry Forshaw, \u003ci\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'T\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ehe most hilarious, life-affirming book you’ll read this year.' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eSAGA\u003c\/i\u003e magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Wit and wisdom that make every page turn . \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ewhat a fine talent the world has lost.' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eSTARBURST\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the memoir Christopher Fowler always wanted to write about 'writing'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's the story of how a young bookworm growing up in a house where there was nothing to read but knitting pamphlets and motorcycle manuals became a writer - a 'word monkey' - and pursued a sort of career in popular fiction. And it's a book full of brilliant insights into the pleasures and pitfalls of his profession, dos and don'ts for would-be writers, and astute observations on favourite (and not-so-favourite) novelists.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut woven into this hugely entertaining and inspiring reflection on a literary life is an altogether darker thread. In Spring 2020, just as the world went into lockdown, Chris was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And yet there is nothing of the misery memoir about \u003ci\u003eWord Monkey\u003c\/i\u003e. Past and present intermingle as, in prose as light as air, he relates with wry humour and remarkable honesty what he knows will be the final chapter in his story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDeeply moving, insightful and surprisingly funny, this is Christopher Fowler's life-affirming account of coming to terms with his own mortality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eA remarkable book by a remarkable writer: amazingly entertaining and informative and also, for obvious reasons, one of the most moving.'\u003c\/b\u003e SIMON MASON, author of the \u003ci\u003eDI Wilkins Mysteries\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Wonderful . there is no bitterness here, but a hearty celebration of how art defines a life, with dark humour on the right occasions and the deliberate aim to leave a positive message . his enthusiasm is infectious and sobering when you are aware that he was dying as he wrote these pages.' \u003c\/b\u003eMaxim Jacubowski, \u003ci\u003eCRIME TIME\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40953304744033,"sku":"9780857529626","price":18.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_32316934.jpg?v=1737186046","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780857529626-word-monkey","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}