The Actual One: How I tried, and failed, to remain twenty-something for ever

(Paperback)

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Description

Isy woke up one day in her late twenties to discover that the invisible deal she'd done with her best mates - that they'd prolong growing up for as long as possible - had all been in her head. Everyone around her is suddenly into mortgages, farmers' markets and nappies, rather than the idea of running naked into the sea or getting hammered in Plymouth with eighty-year-old men. When her dearest friend advises her that the next guy Isy meets will be The Actual One, Isy decides to keep delaying the onset of adulthood - until a bet with her mother results in a mad scramble to find a boyfriend within a month.

From papier-mache penguins to being stranded on a dual carriageway in nothing but a fur coat and trainers, THE ACTUAL ONE is an ode to the confusing wilderness of your late twenties, alongside a quest for a genuinely good relationship with a man who doesn't use moisturiser.

Reviews

Funny, wise and worth what sounds like a decade of romantic mishaps

Isy Suttie turns the painful process of growing-up into something laugh-out-loud funny, and for that I could kiss her

A cross between Lena Dunham and Victoria Wood - SUNDAY TIMES

Always funny, always daft ... endlessly entertaining

Imagine if you will a more cuddly Trainspotting, or a drunker, dirtier Adrian Mole. Isy's warm, wonky memoir lies somewhere between the two: darkly, sweetly funny and affecting, and studded with lemon-sharp insights on life

A delightful, no-holds-barred romp through the highs and lows of being a singleton - you're unlikely to read a more enjoyable book this year

You might know Isy as Dobby from Peep Show, but if you've heard her Radio 4 series Love Letters, you'll be familiar with her charming, rambling storytelling style. It's put to delightful effect here in a memoir about her 20s, which spans her years avoiding responsibility, chasing comedy success and her (slightly reluctant) search for "The One". The line where she compares bums to Switzerland is still making us laugh - GLAMOUR

Suttie's mix of human observation and self-examination makes her a cross between Lena Dunham and Victoria Wood. The Actual One is about the moment she realised all her friends were growing up, and the deal they'd all made to stay young for ever was only in her head. That led to a desperate search for a boyfriend ... Expect a mix of songs, stories and stand-up - SUNDAY TIMES

Author Bio

Isy Suttie is a comedian, actress and writer. She has written for the Guardian, the Observer, the New Statesman, Red and Glamour. She appears regularly on BBC Radio 4, where her show Pearl and Dave won a Gold Sony Award in 2013. Her TV credits include Dobby in Peep Show and Esther in Shameless, plus appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie To You and Q.I. A three-time British Comedy Award nominee, her short stories have appeared in A Love Letter To Europe and Dead Funny: Encore. Her memoir, The Actual One, was published by Orion in 2015.