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  • Alan Partridge: Big Beacon

  • By: Alan Partridge
  • Narrated by: Alan Partridge
  • Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,501 ratings)

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Alan Partridge: Big Beacon

By: Alan Partridge
Narrated by: Alan Partridge
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Summary

In Big Beacon, Norwich's favourite son and best broadcaster, Alan Partridge, triumphs against the odds. TWICE.

Using an innovative 'dual narrative' structure you sometimes see in films, Big Beacon tells the story of how Partridge heroically rebuilt his TV career, rising like a phoenix from the desolate wasteland of local radio to climb to the summit of Mount Primetime and regain the nationwide prominence his talent merits.

But then something quite unexpected and moving, because Big Beacon also tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it's not really for them to say.*

Leaving his old life behind and relocating to a small coastal village in Kent, Alan battles through adversity, wins the hearts and minds of a suspicious community, and ultimately shows himself to be a quite wonderful man.

* The two strands will run in tandem, their narrative arcs mirroring each other to make the parallels between the two stories abundantly clear to the less able reader.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Alan Partridge (P)2023 Orion Publishing Group Limited
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Critic reviews

'It may be the funniest thing ever committed to sound' DAVID BADDIEL

'Partridge... has become the man our time deserves. Aha!' THE TIMES

'The audiobook is an absolute dream' RICHARD OSMAN

What listeners say about Alan Partridge: Big Beacon

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thanks Alan

James May of Top Gear fame just popped round to drop of my Ryobi 18v 6.Ah battery that he uses all the time because he wasn't aware his hoover (that he bought 2 years ago) didn't include the battery despite my forewarning that the batteries are the expensive part and that's probably why it was so cheap.

He must've heard Big Beacon playing from the kitchen because after saying thanks (again...) for the battery he gave me a look, winked, and exclaimed "caaash back" as he swaggered out the door.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Top Partridge

Alan at his best. I’m glad he went into details about Seldom, how they met, and his tragic loss. A must read (or listen).

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Ruddy bloody brilliant

AP at his best - just another fantastic tome to add to the Partridge catalogue. Another soon please

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb writing and performance

Alan Partridge has been with us for a long time but this doesn’t feel like a tired character. Brilliantly written and performed, this is genuinely funny - highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect!

Please keep writing, Steve! You created one of my most favourite characters. I’ve been a fan for over 20 years. Thank you for this book :)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must for Partridge fans

This is full 10s across the board. It's phenomenal. Kudos to the Gibbons Brothers and, of course, to the maestro Steve Coogan.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastically Partridge

Absolutely loved Big Beacon! As always it's hilarious and ever true to the nonsense wonder that is Alan Partridge!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A man , a lighthouse and red

An exquisite insight into Partridge …. I soiled myself 3 times after reading this and had to change my unders …..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Funny ha ha

Very funny in parts. The writing aka script is so dense with the minutiae of Alan's day to day activities that oftentimes you miss bits. A wordsmith but word dense. Would be better to let scenes play out more and slow down the narrative. That said, Steve Coogan is a comic genius and the Alan Partridge character is life life in every paragraph.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

his best yet

Absolutely top tier writing and performance, I've listened to all of the other Partridge audiobooks (despite his insistence that audiobook listeners are too lazy to read- which is only half true) - and this is comfortably his funniest one yet, which is saying something ,as oasthouse/nomad/I Partridge etc are all fantastic too, back of the net!

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