Self & I

‘The title might nod to Withnail, as do some of the odd couple’s odder exploits – including the consumption of many a “special cigarette” – but this erudite yet hilarious account will resonate with anyone trudging in the footsteps of a more successful figure’ * The Oldie *
‘This book comes very close to being a classic memoir of literary apprenticeship. Hilarious..’
‘De Abaitua’s prose... is full of wit, playfulness and intelligence. Though he mourns the fact that literature since the 1990s has lost its cultural force, the denouement to his smart, funny memoir ends up being a paean to the novel itself’ * The Spectator *
‘A study of working-class ambition, an exegesis of the Self canon, a critique of masculinity, a window onto the last pre-digital moment, and a review of that hollow decade in which even the counter-culture was in hock to the establishment...’ * Times Literary Supplement *
‘[Matthew De Abaitua’s] memoir of six months working for Self begins as an intoxicated, madcap romp, before it takes some unexpectedly touching turns… The Self & I title is a deliberate homage to the funny, melancholy slovenliness of cult film Withnail & I… As we find out more about the author’s early life, myth separates itself movingly from reality… A final section about an old lost school friend is devastating too, beautifully exploring what happens when our dreams run away from us. Standing alone, Self aside, his tale really ascends’ * Mail on Sunday **** *
‘[Matthew De Abaitua’s] memoir of six months working for Self begins as an intoxicated, madcap romp, before it takes some unexpectedly touching turns… The Self & I title is a deliberate homage to the funny, melancholy slovenliness of cult film Withnail & I… As we find out more about the author’s early life, myth separates itself movingly from reality… A final section about an old lost school friend is devastating too, beautifully exploring what happens when our dreams run away from us. Standing alone, Self aside, his tale really ascends’ - Mail on Sunday **** || ‘A study of working-class ambition, an exegesis of the Self canon, a critique of masculinity, a window onto the last pre-digital moment, and a review of that hollow decade in which even the counter-culture was in hock to the establishment...’ - Times Literary Supplement || ‘De Abaitua’s prose... is full of wit, playfulness and intelligence. Though he mourns the fact that literature since the 1990s has lost its cultural force, the denouement to his smart, funny memoir ends up being a paean to the novel itself’ - The Spectator || ‘The title might nod to Withnail, as do some of the odd couple’s odder exploits – including the consumption of many a “special cigarette” – but this erudite yet hilarious account will resonate with anyone trudging in the footsteps of a more successful figure’ - The Oldie || ‘This book comes very close to being a classic memoir of literary apprenticeship. Hilarious..’
‘[Matthew De Abaitua’s] memoir of six months working for Self begins as an intoxicated, madcap romp, before it takes some unexpectedly touching turns… The Self & I title is a deliberate homage to the funny, melancholy slovenliness of cult film Withnail & I… As we find out more about the author’s early life, myth separates itself movingly from reality… A final section about an old lost school friend is devastating too, beautifully exploring what happens when our dreams run away from us. Standing alone, Self aside, his tale really ascends’ - Mail on Sunday **** || ‘A study of working-class ambition, an exegesis of the Self canon, a critique of masculinity, a window onto the last pre-digital moment, and a review of that hollow decade in which even the counter-culture was in hock to the establishment...’ - Times Literary Supplement || ‘De Abaitua’s prose... is full of wit, playfulness and intelligence. Though he mourns the fact that literature since the 1990s has lost its cultural force, the denouement to his smart, funny memoir ends up being a paean to the novel itself’ - The Spectator || ‘The title might nod to Withnail, as do some of the odd couple’s odder exploits – including the consumption of many a “special cigarette” – but this erudite yet hilarious account will resonate with anyone trudging in the footsteps of a more successful figure’ - The Oldie || ‘This book comes very close to being a classic memoir of literary apprenticeship. Hilarious..’