Richard Glover is, on the surface, a pretty normal guy. He has a wife and two kids, and all the normal struggles of running a house, paying a mortgage, going to work and raising his children. In reality, though, his life is different – because it is downright hilarious. Okay, so perhaps it is not his life that is hilarious, but his ability to make the commonplace hilarious in his clever retelling, but that’s splitting hairs.

The end result is the same – a funny book about the everyday life of a pretty normal Aussie bloke. Glover shares stories of buying fridges, cleaning house, going shopping and much much more with a wittiness that has the reader trying to maintain a frantic head nod of agreement with much chortling and shaking. There is a temptation to read odd bits out to spouses, friends – even complete strangers – as you see yourself and the world around you reflected in Glover’s words. Who hasn’t been the victim of an inane joke that the delivered thinks is sooooo original? Or frantically prepared for a visit by a parent or in-law? Every reader will relate to the frantic last-minute dash around the shops at Christmas time looking for ‘just the right thing’ to jump off the shelves at you.

Desperate Husbands is desperately funny and desperately true. An excellent read.

Desperate Husbands, by Richard Glover
Harper Collins, 2005

More Humour

Centimetre Perfect, by Dennis Cometti
Releasing the Imbecile Within, by Paul Livingston