Letting Go of the Balloon
Reading, Writing, Looking, Listening and Very Occasionally Living Dangerously
Format:Paperback
Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
Publishing:31st Dec '49
£7.99
This title is due to be published on 31st December, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A new memoir from the author of The Year of Reading Dangerously about the culture we love as we grow up, why we love it, and why we leave some of it behind. Letting Go of the Balloon is a book about writing, looking, listening and occasionally living dangerously too.
Each chapter in Andy Miller’s touching and hilarious book begins with the image of a balloon, in a film or a piece of writing or a painting or a song.
Each one meant something to Andy at some point in his life – Winnie-the-Pooh when he was a child, Withnail and I as a young man, the work of Ian McEwan from the ages of 20 to 46 – And each essay will ask the question, explicitly or implicitly, when is the moment to let go of the balloon? When do we give up? Should we keep rising to see if we can reach the delicious honey at the top of the tree, despite the thinning air and the angry bees? Or do we need to ask someone to shoot us down before we drift out of reach?
Praise for A Year of Reading Dangerously:
‘Like nothing else I have ever read – a combination of criticism and memoir that is astute, tender, funny and often wickedly ironic’ Peter Conrad, Observer
‘Very funny … this is High Fidelity for bookworms’ Christian House, Daily Telegraph
‘Brilliant. All these books should count themselves lucky to have been read by Andy Miller’ Stewart Lee
‘A readable, often funny account … This is much more than a succession of verdicts on famous books. It’s also an autobiography told through books … reminiscent both in style and perceptiveness of Nick Hornby. Miller’s theme is that books aren’t separate from life … Perhaps one book never changed anyone’s life; but 50 of them can.’ Brandon Robshaw, Independent
‘Hilarious and touching … If you don’t like to read, this book is probably not for you, but Dan Brown remains on sale’ Jenny Colgan, author of Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams
‘I loved this book … challenging, controversial and very funny’ David Nobbs, author of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
‘Andy Miller is a very funny writer. And this hymn to reading is a delight. The chapter on Herman Melville and Dan Brown had me howling with pleasure. PS. It will also make you feel a bit well-read’ Matt Haig, author of The Humans
‘Brilliant’ Lucy Mangan, author of My Family and Other Disasters
‘Andy Miller was leading a normal life of quiet desperation when he discovered that he was no longer reading with any plan or pleasure. Usually books about books as therapy are resistible but The Year of Reading Dangerously is a sweet exception. Amiable, circumstantial, amusing, charming’ The Times
‘A witty self-help guide to managing one’s bookshelves’ TLS
ISBN: 9780008203733
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 9mm
Weight: 270g
144 pages