My Family: The Memoir

(Paperback)

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'One of the funniest books I have ever read' HADLEY FREEMAN

A masterpiece SATHNAM SANGHERA

'The read of the summer' THE SUNDAY TIMES

'Brilliant funny and moving' ADAM KAY

A searingly honest, funny and moving family memoir in which David Baddiel exposes his mothers idiosyncratic sex life, and his fathers dementia, to the same affectionate scrutiny.

On the surface, David Baddiels childhood was fairly standard: a lower-middle-class Jewish family living in an ordinary house in Dollis Hill, north-west London. But David came to realise that his mother was in fact not ordinary at all. Having escaped extermination by fleeing Nazi Germany as a child, she was desperate to make her life count, which took the form of a passionate, decades-long affair with a golfing memorabilia salesman. Davids detailing of the affair including a hilarious focus on how his mother turned their household over to golf memorabilia, and an eye-popping cache of her erotic writings leads to the inescapable conclusion that Sarah Baddiel was a cross between Jack Niklaus and Erica Jong.

Meanwhile, as Baddiel investigates his familys past, his fathers memories are fading; dementia is making him moodier and more disinhibited, with an even greater penchant for obscenity. As with his mothers affair, there is both comedy and poignancy to be found: laughter is a constant presence, capable of transforming the darkest of experiences into something redemptive.

My Family: The Memoir is David Baddiels candid examination of his childhood, family and memory offering a twisted love letter to his parents.

'An extraordinary, hilarious book' OBSERVER

I lost count of how many times I gasped CAITLIN MORAN

'Outrageously funnyprofoundly thoughtful' THE SUNDAY TIMES

'Explosively funny, brilliantly written' DAVID WALLIAMS

'Infernally funny' HOWARD JACOBSON

A triumph NINA STIBBE

'Baddiel has done his parents proud GUARDIAN

'Had me howling' PANDORA SYKES

Reviews

'Baddiel writes with a comics fluency and timing In giving us the full, unvarnished picture, Baddiel has done his parents proud Guardian

'Outrageously funnyprofoundly thoughtful' The Sunday Times

'A joy from beginning to end; beautifully written, deeply moving, incredible funny' Daily Mail

'Devastating and gaspingly funny, often in the same sentence David Baddiel is so good at everything he does, he's at risk of becoming a national treasure' Hadley Freeman, author of House of Glass

'Such an extraordinary, hilarious book' Observer

Explosively funny, brilliantly written, Davids family story becomes more and more incredible with every page David Walliams, author of Astrochimp

As dark as it is funny Baddiel has made true art out of experience, I don't know how he does it. A masterpiece Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireworld

'A must-read, must-buy. Laugh out loud funny and moving. The read of the summer' The Sunday Times

'Candid, playful an entertaining, bawdy memoir' Independent

'This book is WAY WAY WAY TOO MUCH in all the best ways. I lost count of how many times I gasped Caitlin Moran, author of What About Men

Brilliant. As funny and moving as youd imagine actually, more so Adam Kay, author of Undoctored

'Had me howling' Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right

'Infernally funny' Howard Jacobson, author of What Will Survive of Us

A triumph, a treat, a love letter to unconventional family members! Nina Stibbe, author of Went to London, Took the Dog

This word, amazing, pretty much sums up Baddiels memoir; likewise jaw-droppingwincingly funny, but always pointedly fond iPaper

'Deeply funny and intensely moving' Dani Shapiro, author of Signal Fires

Author Bio

David Baddiel was born in 1964 in Troy, New York, but grew up and lives in London. He is a comedian, television writer, columnist and author. His children's books have sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, and his debut, The Parent Agency, won the Laugh Out Loud Book Award. David lives in London with his family.