Worst. Person. Ever.
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Worst. Person. Ever.
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Julian Rhind-Tutt
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By:
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Douglas Coupland
About this listen
A razor-sharp portrait of a morally bankrupt and gleefully wicked modern man, Worst. Person. Ever. is Douglas Coupland's gloriously filthy, side-splittingly funny and unforgettable novel.
Meet Raymond Gunt. A decent chap who tries to do the right thing. Or, to put it another way, the worst person ever: a foul-mouthed, misanthropic cameraman, trailing creditors, ex-wives and unhappy homeless people in his wake. Men dislike him, women flee from him. Worst. Person. Ever. is a deeply unworthy book about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value. Gunt, in the words of the author, "is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id."
He's a B-unit cameraman who enters an amusing downward failure spiral that takes him from London to Los Angeles and then on to an obscure island in the Pacific where a major American TV network is shooting a Survivor-style reality show. Along the way, Gunt suffers multiple comas and unjust imprisonment, is forced to re-enact the ‘Angry Dance’ from the movie Billy Elliot and finds himself at the centre of a nuclear war. We also meet Raymond's upwardly failing sidekick, Neal, as well as Raymond's ex-wife, Fiona, herself ‘an atomic bomb of pain’. Even though he really puts the ‘anti’ in anti-hero, you may find Raymond Gunt an oddly likeable character.
©2013 Douglas Coupland (P)2013 Random House AudioGoListeners also enjoyed...
Unfortunately, the narration was lacking and the opportunity for the main protagonist to bring forth a more cutting persona was completely missed.
If you want dark humour; stuck to John Niven.
The whole book left me feeling like I was stuck in a game of cards against humanity - anyone with an actually dark sense of humour can better.
Should have known better
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A Guilty Pleasure
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Would you listen to Worst. Person. Ever. again? Why?
Life's too busy to listen again but this book was so compelling that I bought the hardback even before I had finished.What did you like best about this story?
Where to start? Julian Rhind-Tutt did a fabulous job with a car-crash of a story ... you don't want to listen but you cannot help yourself. Douglas Coupland struck gold again but how did he get the English tone so right? As ever the diversions into fact and fiction make for a really enjoyable read.Have you listened to any of Julian Rhind-Tutt’s other performances? How does this one compare?
I'm not sure. On the other hand his performance was striking enough for me to take note.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Laugh, jaw ajar.Audio equivalent of a "page turner"
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What made the experience of listening to Worst. Person. Ever. the most enjoyable?
I think this book would make an incredibly funny film. The characters and situations are so far fetched yet well written - I hated having to stop listening to it and couldn't wait to get back to listening to itWhat did you like best about this story?
The rise of Neil - from the beginning with "Don't you want me baby" was hilariousIf you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The rise of the anti-heroThis book should definitely be made into a film
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What made the experience of listening to Worst. Person. Ever. the most enjoyable?
I recently listened to the Cuckoo Calling which is a car crash of an audiobook. The worst thing about it was Robert Glenister's accents. At one point I played a segment to my partner to see if they could guess the accent (it was West Indian, she guessed Irish, I was a good guess). That book was awarded the Audible book of the year! Julian Rhind-Tutt put Glenister's feeble effort to shame. His scope of characterization and accents gives much more emotional weight to what is effectively a fairly slight book. And I can't imagine the humor coming off the page so well as it does through his masterful narration. The man is a pro and I look forward to listening to more of his work. I also recommend his reading of Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton.If you’ve listened to books by Douglas Coupland before, how does this one compare?
I've adored Coupland's work for years but even I have to admit that since Girl Friend in a Coma he has mostly suffered from Star Trek movie syndrome (i.e. every other novel is a dud). Previous novel Player One was really good, so I came to this one with low expectations. I was very surprised to find him writing an out and out comedy, but by the time a atomic bomb is dropped we are in very Coupland territory, albeit from a more comic perspective than usual.Whilst this is definitely not among his best work I found it had it's own charm and really enjoyed the characters. The premise of writing a book from the point of view of the most selfish character imaginable works surprisingly well here. But most of his pop culture targets this time around are just too easy ti be interesting (mostly Reality TV).
Which character – as performed by Julian Rhind-Tutt – was your favourite?
Fiona, the bizarre, manipulative genius ex wife of the narrator. She has most of the best lines and develops from a seeming two dimensional stereo type into an unpredictable force of sheer will power who drives the story forwards.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I laughed out loud 3 or 4 times. It's more silly than funny but hearing the delusional self congratulatory thoughts of a truly dreadful individual turned out to be a lot of fun.Any additional comments?
Brits will struggle not to cringe at some of the bad cultural research. We say "round the block" not "a few blocks from here", "carton" and never "juice box" etc. The publisher should be embarrassed at the number of deeply un British mistakes. It's just not cricket!Surreal light comedy from a landmark authour
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