And Away...

Description

The number one bestseller and Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year by national treasure Bob Mortimer. 'The most life-affirming, joyful read of the year' - Sunday Times 'Winningly heartfelt' - The Guardian 'A triumph' - Daily Mail Bob Mortimer's life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him, but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away... Although his childhood in Middlesbrough was normal on the surface, it was tinged by the loss of his dad, and his own various misadventures (now infamous from his appearances on Would I Lie to You?), from burning down the family home to starting a short-lived punk band called Dog Dirt. As an adult, he trained as a solicitor and moved to London. Though he was doing pretty well (the South London Press once crowned him 'The Cockroach King' after a successful verdict), a chance encounter in a pub in the 1980s with a young comedian going by the name Vic Reeves set his life on a different track. And now, six years on, the heart condition that once threatened his career has instead led to new success on BBC2's Gone Fishing. Warm, profound, and irrepressibly funny, And Away... is Bob's full life story (with a few lies thrown in for good measure.)

Bob Mortimer was born in Middlesbrough in 1959, the youngest of four sons. He trained as a solicitor before a chance encounter with Vic Reeves in the 1980s led to a successful career in comedy as half of duo Reeves and Mortimer. His screen credits include Shooting Stars, Big Night Out, Catterick and most recently BBC2's Gone Fishing. His memoir, And Away..., published in 2021. It became the bestselling memoir of the year, was named Times and Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for Non-fiction Book of the Year at the National Book Awards. The Satsuma Complex is his first novel. He's on Twitter and Instagram as @RealBobMortimer.

'It's probably fairer to say that since his brush with mortality, Mortimer has come into his own. There is this book, which is a triumph... And Away is as good a celebrity autobiography as you could hope to read, and enthusiastically recommend.' * Daily Mail * '...(a) fascinating and often poignant memoir.' * Daily Express & Daily Mirror * 'The book, too, grows more confident in talking about serious subjects as it progresses and it's the honesty and openness that he allows in Gone Fishing that make And Away..., by the end, an unexpectedly moving read' * The Observer * 'A glorious collection of stories from an extraordinary life. Once you put it down, you may get the immediate urge to pick it up again. Yes, you couldn't let it lie.' * Yorkshire Magazine * 'Bob Mortimer is pretty much established as a national treasure...So it's great to hear his story of how he got there first-hand...In the end he has become loved for being himself. And maybe that's the best type of success of all.' * Beyond the Joke * 'Bob's recent reinvention via the ...Gone Fishing series means a whole new audience might indeed be surprised at how many different things he's done and will particularly admire the non-showbiz route to stardom in our age of driven but ultimately vacuous and content-free superstars.' * Yorkshire Bylines * 'It's a precarious world, but And Away... is a heartfelt testament to the magic of finding your happy place within it.' * The Sunday Times * '(a) touching, funny autobiography.' * Observer * '(a) comic masterpiece of a memoir: melancholically amusing, warm and witty' * Strong Words * 'Filled with anecdotes from Mortimer's life, And Away... contrasts humour with a deeper contemplation of life following his open-heart surgery' * Radio Times * '...deftly combines all the varied aspects of Mortimer's eventful, fascinating life and paints a fully three-dimensional picture of this much-loved figure' * Chortle * '...it's everything you would want from the man who is the highlight of every show you see him on' * The Independent *