I very nearly read this in Borders once but then I just sort of couldn't be bothered... I can't really put my finger on why it didn't grab me but I find latter-day Grant sans Naylor and Naylor sans Grant kind of lack-lustre. I mean, they're still reasonably amusing and if I'm stuck on a long train journey I might consider one of their books but they strike me as a middle of the road comedy burnouts. Perhaps I'm being unfair.

Nobody who saw the 8th season of Red Dwarf could possibly accuse you of being unfair. If anything, I'd say calling Naylor (at least) a mere burnout would be generous. I think in some episodes he actually invented anti-comedy, an art form that sucks joy and laughter out of the room.

I think I've actually blotted it out as being too awful to remember. To be fair, I think both their novels tend to be okay-ish but not exactly genius. Also they (I seem to see them as basically interchangeable, (which is probably very wrong) have a slightly over-ponderous style which means that Humour Comes At You with capital letters.

Yes, it's true, the humor does kind of Come At You -- it's anything but unobtrusive!

I know this is an old review, but I recently reread Fat and I think you're exactly right about Grant's ability to write individual voices, Rami.

It strikes me as the sort of book Ben Elton would love to be able to write if he were able to empathise with his characters (Elton's tried at least once to write a character with an eating disorder. Like most of his attempts to address mental health, it's simplistic and offensive). Crucially, Grant lets characters have differing views without signposting who's right. I love Grenville's distorted viewpoint of his rampage compared to the truth as shown to him by the police.

If Fat had a stronger plot this would be seriously good, and as it is it's a decent read. The pacing is a bit dodgy - for all the emphasis on the camp, it's opened far too late in the book to have any impact - but it's light enough to leave me forgiving. I ended up like you, cheering them all on.

It certainly makes me interested in what he writes next.