Are We Having Fun Yet?
Published on 27. June 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-78816-107-7 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
'Utterly, utterly perfect and brilliant - I think it is, simply, a new classic, and the book every woman will be able to trust to make her happy when she picks it up' - Caitlin Moran
'Utterly wonderful ... full of love. Enormously uplifting, funny and witty and wry' - Marian Keyes
'A glorious, outrageously funny retelling of E.M. Delafield's Diary of a Provincial Lady. At once, a celebration of the joy of family life and a cry of anguish at the utter hell of it. Laugh out loud, compulsive reading' - Nina Stibbe
Meet Liz: all she wants is some peace and quiet so she can read a book with her cat Henry, love of her life, by her side. But trampling all over this dream is a group of wild things also known as Liz's family. Namely:
Richard - a man, a husband, no serious rival to Henry.
Thomas - their sensitive seven year old son, for whom life is a bed of pain already.
Evie - five year old acrobat, gangster, anarchist, daughter.
And as if her family's demands (Where are the door keys? Are we made of plastic? Do 'ghost poos' really count?) weren't enough, Liz must also contend with the madness of parents, friends, bosses, and at least one hovering nemesis. Are We Having Fun Yet? is a year with one woman as she faces all the storms of modern life (babysitters, death, threadworms) on her epic quest for that holy grail: a moment to herself.
'Utterly, utterly perfect and brilliant - I think it is, simply, a new classic, and the book every woman will be able to trust to make her happy when she picks it up' - Caitlin Moran
'Utterly wonderful ... full of love. Enormously uplifting, funny and witty and wry' - Marian Keyes
'A glorious, outrageously funny retelling of E.M. Delafield's Diary of a Provincial Lady. At once, a celebration of the joy of family life and a cry of anguish at the utter hell of it. Laugh out loud, compulsive reading' - Nina Stibbe
Meet Liz: all she wants is some peace and quiet so she can read a book with her cat Henry, love of her life, by her side. But trampling all over this dream is a group of wild things also known as Liz's family. Namely:
Richard - a man, a husband, no serious rival to Henry.
Thomas - their sensitive seven year old son, for whom life is a bed of pain already.
Evie - five year old acrobat, gangster, anarchist, daughter.
And as if her family's demands (Where are the door keys? Are we made of plastic? Do 'ghost poos' really count?) weren't enough, Liz must also contend with the madness of parents, friends, bosses, and at least one hovering nemesis. Are We Having Fun Yet? is a year with one woman as she faces all the storms of modern life (babysitters, death, threadworms) on her epic quest for that holy grail: a moment to herself.
Reviews / Votes
Utterly wonderful ... full of love. Enormously uplifting, funny and witty and wry -- Marian Keyes I read everything by Lucy Mangan, she is one of the funniest writers in Britain. -- Jenny Colgan Utterly, utterly perfect and brilliant - I think it is, simply, a new classic, and the book every woman will be able to trust to make her happy when she picks it up. Lucy Mangan is a fucking genius. SO MUCH WISDOM IN IT. SO MUCH ANGER. SO MUCH LOVE. SO MUCH LOL. It's just exquisite -- Caitlin Moran Compelling, connecting humour from start to finish ... motherhood made funny -- Helen Lederer Warm, witty and invigorated by righteous anger -- Amber Pearson * Mail on Sunday * A comic update on EM Delafield's Diary Of A Provincial Lady that will hit home with anyone who hates the verb "to multitask" -- 'Books to make people laugh' * Stylist * Family life under the microscope - scalpel sharp and gloriously real. Pure Mangan: witty and wickedly funny -- Jenny Eclair Lucy Mangan nails the absurd pitfalls of modern life/marriage/small children so completely and honestly, but with a lightness of touch that means the overall effect is calming and nourishing and feels like having a really good chat with a kind and loving friend. And so funny! I was shaking the bed with my laughter. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink A glorious, outrageously funny retelling of E.M. Delafield's Diary of a Provincial Lady. At once a celebration of the joy of family life and a cry of anguish at the utter hell of it. Laugh out loud, compulsive reading. -- Nina Stibbe I was crying with laughter reading so much of it ... full of pure simmering rage -- Emma Barnett * BBC Woman's Hour * This romp through the chaos of family life will have you wincing and rejoicing in equal measure -- Susie Mesure * iPaper *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
263 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78816-107-7 (9781788161077)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Lucy Mangan is the Guardian's TV critic. She has written for Stylist, the Daily Telegraph and many others. Lucy's memoir Bookworm, a personal history of children's literature, was published in 2018. She lives in London with her husband, child, cat and multiple Billy bookcases. Her own domestic set-up is a miracle of efficiency and competence. This book has, absolutely, been a gargantuan feat of imagination.