Cunk on Everything by Philomena Cunk

Cunk on Everything

by Philomena Cunk

Read by Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, the star of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe and Cunk on Britain

'This book is great because it covers everything in existence apart from the 95% of stuff not worth bothering with' Philomena Cunk

'Essential reading for these slipshod times' Al Murray

Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that changes the world. The Origin of Species. War and Peace. 1984. The World According to Danny Dyer. And now, Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena, by Philomena Cunk.

Philomena Cunk is one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st century, and in Cunk on Everything she turns her attention to our biggest issue: why are there so many books? Wouldn't it be better if there was just one? This is that book - an encyclopedia of ALL HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, from sausages to Henry of Eight to Brush Strokes to vegetarian sausages.

Read it, and you'll never have to read another book again.

'This is a book' Philomena Cunk
'Never contact me again' Professor Rupert Delgado, MBE
'Cunk for PM' Rachel Riley
'. . . book . . .' Guardian
'Truly the intellect for our baffling times' The Times
'This book is absolutely stupid' The Pool

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Cunk on Everything is a witty and occasionally scathing alphabetical encyclopedia of observations by Philomena Cunk. Originally published in 2018, this hardcover reformat and re-release is from Hachette on their Grand Central imprint. It's 304 pages and is available in this edition in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the e-book format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

"Philomena" is a comedian/actress and writer and she gleefully skewers everything from Adam & Eve (having only men around must've been dead boring, hence Eve was needed, and why didn't the almighty just put a post-it on the apple like normal people do to their food in the office fridge?) to Zombies (if they'd only turn vegetarian and stop eating people, the zombie apocalypse would be a non-starter). 

This is for reading in limited snatches, not really for cover-to-cover perusal. It is quite funny, and very much in the same vein as her other media work. Fans of her TV specials and film work will enjoy this very much.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

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Reading updates

  • 18 October, 2023: Started reading
  • 18 October, 2023: Finished reading
  • 18 October, 2023: Reviewed