Nomad
Ratings9
Average rating4.2
In ALAN PARTRIDGE: NOMAD, Alan dons his boots, windcheater and scarf and embarks on an odyssey through a place he once knew - it's called Britain - intent on completing a journey of immense personal significance. Diarising his ramble in the form of a 'journey journal', Alan details the people and places he encounters, ruminates on matters large and small and, on a final leg fraught with danger, becomes - not a man (because he was one to start off with) - but a better, more inspiring example of a man. This deeply personal book is divided into chapters and has a colour photograph on the front cover. It is deeply personal. Through witty vignettes, heavy essays and nod-inducing pieces of wisdom, Alan shines a light on the nooks of the nation and the crannies of himself, making this a biography that biographs the biographer while also biographing bits of Britain.
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Very funny book - highly recommended. Also educational - the things I learned about loft insulation and the motorway network in the south East of England, as well as Alan's ratings of the several London airports, will stay with me for a long time.
Contains spoilers for the movie Alpha Papa though, so watch that first. It's also very funny.
Nomad should have won a Booker Prize
Even after all these years, Alan Partridge is a comedy gift that keeps on giving. Especially, if you listen to the audio book. Its as though Alan is in the room with you. Or perhaps you're listening to Mid Morning Matters? Either way, you'll get six-hours listening to the inner monologue of a petty, immature and deluded man. A man who always tries to ‘get the last laugh'. A man who has a glorious lack of self-awareness.
In Nomad we see Alan deciding to set off on a mission to follow in his father's footsteps. Its a similar spiritual and metaphorical journey to that of George Orwell in the “Road to Wigan Pier”. Sort of. Actually, Alan sees yet another opportunity to get on TV with his ‘journey'. Its also slightly ironic that it takes Alan well over 100 pages to even mention his Dad! Starting at his childhood home in Norwich he'll trek to Dungeness nuclear power station. This is where is father once had a job interview. On the way Alan gives us his opinion on any number of things. For example, celebrities: Noel Edmonds, Gyles Brandreth, Nick Knowles, for instance. Alan has unflattering comments about them all.
Coogan and co-writers Rob and Neil Gibbons really hit the mark with Nomad. Terrible adjectives and ridiculous metaphors. Clumsy use of grammar Awkward sentence formation. Overblown vocabulary. Its all here. And its all hilarious.
A worthy sequel to the excellent ‘I, Partridge' and a ruddy stonking read. What's next? Well, I'd encourage Alan to publish those books he's mentioned in passing. “Yachting Mishaps” or even better: ‘Bouncing Back'.
