Please: A Novel

By Peter Darbyshire

Please chronicles the life of an emotionally numb man who drifts through a hallucinatory world of parties filled with celebrity wannabes, addictive relationships, and jobs that demand he become someone other than who he is. Both a dark satire of the contemporary obsession with the "mediascape" and a sophisticated critique of an increasingly uncaring society that offers fantasy in place of real experience, this first novel by a rising talent paints a compassionate picture of one man's search for something real to embrace in life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551925621
• ISBN13: 9781551925622
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Raincoast Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Amazing writing, funny yet touching and real.

This book is phenomenal. Darbyshire debuts with strong writing and even stronger characters. Best books I have read so far this year.

Hidden Treasure

Trying to get some Canadian content into my reading repertoire, I headed to the local library where I came across "Please". After reading the first chapter there in the library, I was hooked. Darbyshire combines wit and satire to produce a hilarious offbeat and thoroughly enjoyable novel. Having a similar style to Joseph Heller, Darbyshire's "Please" reminded me of the timeless classic "Catch 22".If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable and different read, pick up a copy of this novel. You'll be glad you did!

Fresh, witty and downright enjoyable!

This is one of the most refreshing, highly readable, laugh out loud novels I have read in a long time. The only fault I can find is it's too short. I found myself reading slowly in order to make it last. Each chapter in itself can stand alone as a short story and they brilliantly come together as a whole. The main character is this down on his luck chronically unemployed twenty-something guy who pines over his wife who has divorced him. Through flashbacks to the past we learn about his wacky relationship with his ex-wife while in the present he spends time drinking in S & M bars frequented by models, peeping through apartment windows with a blind man, getting robbed by Mormons and going on car chases in pursuit of John Cusack but that's not even the half of it!If you read this in a public place, you'll find yourself trying to suppress your laughter at some of the deadpan tongue-in-cheek humor. Dabryshire has a sharp wit and is an incredible talent. I can't wait to read more of him.If you liked Palahniuk's Choke or Banbury's Like A Hole In The Head, then you'll love this.