Very British Problems: Making Life Awkward for Ourselves, One Rainy Day at a Time

by Rob Temple

There's an epidemic sweeping the nation

Symptoms include:
*Acute embarrassment at the mere notion of 'making a fuss'
*Extreme awkwardness when faced with any social greeting beyond a brisk handshake
*An unhealthy preoccupation with meteorology

Doctors have also reported several cases of unnecessary apologising, an obsessive interest in correct queuing etiquette and dramatic sighing in the presence of loud teenagers on public transport. If you have experienced any of these symptoms, you may be suffering from VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS.

VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS are highly contagious. There is no known cure.

Rob Temple's hilarious book reveals all the ways in which we are a nation of socially awkward but well-meaning oddballs, struggling to make it through every day without apologising to an inanimate object. Take comfort in misfortunes of others. You are not alone.

• ISBN10: 1405529237
• ISBN13: 9781405529235
• Publish Date: 10 October 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

The book is basically just a collection of Tweets from their Twitter account. It doesn't work as well in book form.

[Leah]

This is just the perfect book if you're a Brit, it sums us up PERFECTLY. I was pretty much laughing the entire time because it's so true. I always get angry when I'm in a queue and someone queue jumps, and I store my anger inside, because that's just what we do - we do not call a person out on their rudeness, we just seethe. And we're so awkward... It just - I could imagine myself in every situation, acting the same way.

You just have to read it and laugh, because it's amazing, and it will absolutely brighten up your day, if you're having a crap day, I swear.

[MurderByDeath]

This book was quite a bit different than what I expected.  It's basically a collection of tweets (and maybe Facebook posts?); observations on the British cultural identity - each page only listing a half-dozen or so and each chapter attempts to categorise them into different areas (travel, weather, sex, etc.).   

That's not to say I didn't enjoy what was there; most of them are funny and quite a few of them apply to me.  Either I'm secretly British, or the UK has a lot of introverts; I'm guessing it's more the latter than the former.  Some of them were so spot-on it was scary.   

I'd have preferred a narrative style myself and if asked, I'd say while it is definitely worth reading, it might be better borrowed from the library or picked up at bargain prices.