All Ears

ISBN: 1846880386

Author: Holden, Michael

Condition: New

Product Description As the author of All Ears will freely admit, theres nothing dignified about listening to other peoples conversations, especially if these are thrust upon us as we stand in crowded London bus, packed sardine-style with complete strangers shouting into their mobile phones. No one, however, has ever attempted to raise eavesdropping to an art form, or recognize what verbal gems are being thrown around us every minute of our waking urban existence. Gathered for the first time in a volume, and accompanied by Andy Watts iconic illustrations, are Michael Holdens hit "stolen dialogues," which readers of the Saturday Guardian-where they were serialized since April 2005-will immediately recognize. The locations vary-ranging from Scotland to the South Coast-but the focus is on the teeming city of London, with its noisy and multifarious inhabitants, directly presented here in all its quirkiness, showing how unusual and unscriptable everyday conversation can at times be. The book includes previously unpublished vignettes, 15 color illustrations by Andy Watt, scene-setting descriptions for each dialogue, and a map identifying the location of each conversation. Review "I started as a casual reader, but now Im hooked, and regularly turn to it first. Im fascinated, actually. What Id like to know (and I wouldnt give this away) is how much of it is genuine vox pop and how much is invented or tailored. Either way, its so much fresher and more redolent of the way we live now than almost anything written by our leading dramatists."  -Andrew Davies, screenplay writer, Bridget Joness Diary, Middlemarch, and Pride and Prejudice"Oh, my God!! Don't buy this book!  It looks subversive and insulting-and smelly. You'd never get it off your clothes if you picked it up."  -Ralph Steadman, caricaturist,Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas About the Author Michael Holden works as writer and journalist. All Ears is his first book.