Sorry to keep banging on about my trip to Paris, but before we went, mindful of packing restrictions, I suggested to my husband he bring along a second book we both might like to read (I was already taking Harry Potter and he had some crime thing) and he picked up Staying Alive. Well, once I'd finished Potter, me and the man I love ended up fighting over this book while his original book languished in his case.
Murray Colin works in advertising, but in the boring, administrative side, not the creative side. His girlfriend's just left him (because he's dull) and he's fed up. And then he finds a lump in one of his testicles and is told he's got "between three and five months to live". Thing is, he hasn't done much living in the last 30-odd years, so how much is he likely to do in 3-5 months? You'd be surprised.
A series of unfortunate events lead to him losing his job, wrecking a car (or two) and being on the run from Russian gangsters, accompanied by a homeless girl, one of the more demented "creatives" from his former agency and said creative's cute 3-year-old daughter. Thing is, although death has never been closer (frankly he'd be lucky to make it to the five month mark...), Murray's never felt more alive.
I really enjoyed this book. It's laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes painfully stressful to read (honestly, how someone can get himself in so much trouble so fast beggars belief) plus it's got a message (though not at all heavy-handed) about living your life before it's too late. Recommended.
Rating: 4/5
Like this? Try Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About by Mil Millington
Did you know? Matt Beaumont is the husband of author Maria Beaumont?