I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan

By: Alan Partridge

Narrated by: Alan Partridge

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder – Alan Partridge – a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma?

Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile at St. Luke’s Hospital in Norwich. After replacing Peter Flint as the presenter of Scout About, he entered the top 8 of BBC sports presenters.But Alan’s big break came with his primetime BBC chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You. Sadly, the show battled against poor scheduling, having been put up against News at Ten, then in its heyday. Due to declining ratings, a single catastrophic hitch (the killing of a guest on air) and the dumbing down of network TV, Alan’s show was cancelled. Not to be dissuaded, he embraced this opportunity to wind up his production company, leave London and fulfil a lifelong ambition to return to his roots in local radio.

Now single, Alan is an intensely private man but he opens up, for the second time, in this candid, entertaining, often deeply emotional – and of course compelling – memoir, written entirely in his own words. (Alan quickly dispelled the idea of using a ghost writer. With a grade B English Language O-Level, he knew he was up to the task.)

He speaks touchingly about his tragic Toblerone addiction, and the painful moment when unsold copies of his first autobiography, Bouncing Back, were pulped like ‘word porridge’. He reveals all about his relationship with his ex-Ukrainian girlfriend, Sonja, with whom he had sex at least twice a day, and the truth about the thick people who make key decisions at the BBC.

A literary tour de force, I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan charts the incredible journey of one of our greatest broadcasters.

©2011 Alan Partridge (P)2011 HarperCollins

Critic reviews

"Legendary." ( The Guardian)

"Some of the UK’s finest comedy." ( The Telegraph)

"Coogan’s greatest creation." ( Daily Mail)

“I’m a massive Alan Partridge fan, and this is without a doubt the funniest book I’ve ever read. You’ll be laughing at something on every single page. Its worth downloading the audiobook, though, so you can listen to Alan reading it to you.” (Greg James, Heat Magazine)

Aha!

Great for weeding the flower beds, loading the dishwasher or blagging off work for a quick chuckle. Highly recommended.

Incredibly funny

This book is soooo funny. I listen to it every night. For some reason his voice is very soothing to me.

funniest thing I've ever read

I love Alan partridge so im bias but this is hilarious to say the least

Adore Steve Coogan's writing.

If you enjoy British humour - he is the best! Every moment was enjoyable.

A treat for all you Partridge lovers out there!

Classic Partridge, 10 on 10 and needles to say - I had the last laugh.

If you love the character you’ll love this book, read in character by Coogan and hits all the classic Partridgisms!

Return of the Partridge

As a fan of the various Alan Partridge series on the BBC, I was excited to hear Coogan and Co. were writing an Alan Partridge book, and when I found out Coogan would be narrating the audiobook as Alan Partridge, I knew that would definitely be the version to get. The reading does not disappoint. Alan's deadpan buffoonish style is just as funny as ever, and I found myself laughing out loud in the car many times while listening. The writing style is fun and fresh, actively calling attention to the book-writing process, as Alan tries to meet his publisher's minimum word count. My only complaint is that book covers a lot of material from the KMKY and I'm Alan Partridge, so some of the jokes/situations are recycled. Even still the writing makes them fresh. If you haven't seen all those series as many times as I have, obviously that's not a problem. Even if you have, if you're a fan of the Partridge, it's definitely worth a listen, but you probably knew that already.

The performance makes the book

This would not be worth reading as a book, really - the performance makes the middling material worth your time. If you like any of the other Alan Partridge entertainments, you will like this audiobook.

very funny. well read

if you like British humor, you will love this book. can't wait for the next one.

Absolutely Hilarious

Just stunningly funny from stem to stern. And eight more words are required for some reason. Get it together, Audible.

An Anglican giant among pygmies

If you could sum up I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan in three words, what would they be?

black belt chat

What other book might you compare I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan to and why?

The Bible, Great Expectations, The Story of My Experiments with Truth - Mahatma Gandhi, My Early Life: A Roving Commission - Winston Churchill, Poptastic: My Life in Radio - Tony Blackburn

What does Alan Partridge bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Alan's personal reading of the book lends the words a rich timbre which, combined with his signature rhythm and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones can lead to tears, laughter or literally incontinence all over the very same page.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sorry I should have read this question first as I explained my laughter, tears and urine expulsion in the previous question.

Any additional comments?

It makes the lives of Richard Madeley and Alan Titmarsh look positively tame.