This is Brilliant - This is a Book by Demetri Martin, a Book Review

‘This is a Book’ by Demetri Martin is a wonderful, inventive and incredibly random book showcasing some of the author’s excellent comedy.

One of several covers used in different editions of the book.

I ordered this book after seeing that it wasn’t a novel, wasn’t non-fiction and didn’t seem like anything else that I have on my bookshelf at present. I’m glad that I chose this book – it’s an excellent, easy-to-read book full of wit and charm. Each chapter focuses on something different, and no two chapters are the same (excluding ‘More Drawings’, an extension of ‘Some Drawings’). Some are short stories; others are scripts for skits and sketches; yet more are simply charming drawings and representations with witty annotations and captions. This is a book that you can flick through, choose a chapter and read without bothering about continuity – in this book, there’s no such thing as continuity. Nothing connects to anything else. This apparent anarchy suits the book perfectly. It means that once you’ve finished reading one section, you can be assured of something completely different to follow it.
Although pretty much everything here is excellent, there are some chapters that really stick out as truly wonderful. My personal favourite was the chapter entitled ‘Robot Test’, which took form as a fake quiz. That truly was excellent. Other highlights include ‘Sheila’, a bittersweet ghost/love story (you can tell that I took that bit from the blurb; guilty as charged), ‘We’re Pregnant’, ‘Cat Calendar’ and ‘Epigrams, Fragments & Light Verse’.

In short, this book is a madhouse of brilliance – funny and charming with an edge of insanity added to it. It’s an excellent read. Whatever your taste in humour (assuming you aren’t a wrinkly old man with no love for the world), you’ll find something to tickle your funny bone in here. Buy it quick, read it fast – and chuckle yourself to sleep at night with thoughts of this genius book.

Rating: 8/10

This review was taken from Penguin Book's 'Spinebreakers' website, where the author goes by a slightly different name. To view the original review, click here. For more information on Spinebreakers and how to become one, click here.