Inconceivable - Ben Elton

I have read books that have long drawn out chapters, I have read books that have short punchy three page chapters, I have read books written as diaries and even a book written entirely as e-mails but this was the first book that I have read that had no chapters and hence no sign posted markers to when you could consider taking a pause from reading instead this book is basically made up of two separate journals which record the thoughts and life experiences ...
...to start a family. The story is set in London with the married couple Sam and Lucy Bell both enjoying reasonably successful careers, Sam with the BBC while Lucy works for an entertainment agency with a number of film and TV stars on their books. It was Lucy idea for both parties to maintain a secret journal to record their thoughts as secretly she hoped that it would make Sam open up with regards to his feelings as she felt him to be rather cold ...

atticusuk 07.07.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

Inconvievable is the book that the film Maybe Baby was based around. I read the book before I seen the film, and I’m glad I did it that way round – the book inspired me to go watch the film, but I doubt the inverse would be true. The film doesn’t create the same warmth in the characters and doesn’t develop them as well as people – put simply, I became a lot more attached to the characters in the book. The book is one ...
...style, and it isn’t a pain to read. I bought it shortly after Christmas, when I was revising, which turned out to be a bad idea as I ended up reading the book more than I did revising! (Still, I passed, so that’s the important thing!). The book is based around Sam and Lucy Bell. Sam and Lucy have been trying to conceive for years now, and at the start of this book they are debating on whether they should start tests to see what the problem ...

hugon 24.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

...and he’s right! He said Inconceivable by Ben Elton was a really good book and that I would like it. He was right. Damn. The only Ben Elton book I have read was Stark, the first one. It was okay, not great. But recently, I have got into Chick Lit and rarely find myself reading male authors – Terry Pratchett being the exception. But to appease my beloved one, I had a look at Inconceivable. The format initially put me off a bit, as it ...
...only one out there! Inconceivable works on many levels – yes, it’s the story of a couple’s fight to conceive a child, but it’s also satirical, a modern social comedy. The BBC is picked apart from the inside, with a kind of critical affection that could only have come from someone in the know. It is definitely an adult book, with themes including sex, masturbation and various invasive medical procedures. My eight year old ...

KarenUK 08.10.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

...went against them. Inconceivable is not a classic, Inconceivable is not probably the best of Ben Elton, but it is however I book that I am enternally glad I bought, and a book I will enjoy reading for a long time to come. The book was recently filmed as 'Maybe Baby', directed by Ben Elton, starring Joely Richardson and Hugh Laurie. ...

everyplatewebreak 21.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

As I am currently not working I have plenty of time on my hands and am so far using a fairly large chunk of it reading and re-reading some of the heaps of books that litter my bedroom (I was meant to be tidying up, but you know how rude it is to pick up a book and not read it don't you?). This is one that for whatever reason had previously been overlooked so must have been languishing in book purgatory for over a year, given that I have always enjoyed ...
...eyes to this one. It is well known that this book is about one of the hardest topics for any couple to come to terms with. The reasons behind infertility and the solutions to this problem. Of course it is also known that Ben Elton is writing from his own experiences as he and his wife had to get IVF treatment before they could become parents, so it seems that this book is going to be accuarate in that the emotions and experiences are his own. The ...

scuba_angel 30.04.2007 (28.04.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

This happens to be the first Ben Elton novel that I have read, and having never been a great fan of his comedy was not sure it would entirely be my cup of tea, but move over Earl Grey, I'm hooked! Written in everyday language, Elton has not tried to be clever with words, nor has he tried to duplicate his somewhat course stand-up routine, which if I'm honest, is possibly what I was expecting. What he has successfully done though is written a first ...
...humour and compassion. Based loosely on his own experiences of infertility, he has reached deep down and recalled every emotion he and his wife obviously went through at the time, and the knowledge he has on the subject is easily seen. Within a few chapters the main characters become real, and it helps that they are everyday people, there is no Hollywood style gloss, but good British behaviour only a little exagerated! Throughout the book you can ...

Lizzii 24.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

...some scenes deal are of a graphic sexual nature. It is one of the very few fiction books that deal with infertility. If you enjoyed Blackadder, or the Young Ones both written by Ben Elton, then Inconceivable is definitely the nest book you should be buying from Amazon. ...

Sticky_fingaz 25.01.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

Well I know that alot of people have mixed opinions on Ben Elton, I personally think he is a very funny man and used to love watching the man from auntie. I had heard alot about this book and as I suffer with infertility was a bit unsure as to whether I could read the book without getting all emotional (us women have a tendancy to these things - well I do anyway, lol) Well I needn't have worried, the book was a good read apart from the fact that ...
...beginning it was hard going for the first 10 pages (I know alot of people would have given up by then but I was bored)after that I found that it was an enjoyable book noted by the fact that he knew what he was talking about (he has gone through IVF himself and now has twins) and he knew how to make you laugh because you had been there and done it. The basic story (for all who have not read it or seen the film) is of a couple who can not have children, ...

maxr19 19.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

I found this book a bit like the british summer - predictable and not giving you much to smile at. It uses a quite novel writing technique whereby the narrative is in the form of diary entries of the couple who are trying to conceive - so you get both points of view. Now, though the observations are accurate and perceptive to the gender of the characters - they simply lead you down a path that if you have any imagination whatsoever you can eaily ...

skymileto 03.09.2000 · Read full review
Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

I bought this book online with a voucher I recieved so it cost me virtually nothing.Its about a couple who are desperate for children,well the leading lady is more desperate as you will gather if you decide to read this book. It reads like a diary and is hilarious in parts so don't read it on public transport as there may be a few strange looks headed your way if you start laughing out loud as I did on several occassions(laughed out loud that is,not ...
...funny look at fertility treatment and it makes you feel very lucky if you already have children,I would not fancy going though some of the stuff in this book!! I won't go into the story line too much because I may spoil it if you are planning to read it,but the part in the book where the leading man has to go and give a sperm sample is truly side splitting(well I thought so). I would recommend this to anyone who like a bit of comedy in there lives ...

niclemamy 12.03.2001 (11.04.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

I recently read this book, after having owned it for a good few years now. I can only say that I'm sorry I didn't read it sooner. I've read a number of Ben Elton's books (Gridlock is particularly funny), but with the subject matter here of IVF treatment, I wondered where he'd get his laughs. I have found the answer: Knob Gags! There is, or course, more to this book than knob gags - in fact it's a really well-written and lovingly thought-out piece ...
...previous work, it does rely on the rude stuff. The basis of the book is that Sam and Lucy Bell are married and have been trying to get pregnant for five years without success so they finally bite the bullet and decide to get tested to check that all their parts are in working order. The reader finds this out in a series of diary extracts from Lucy and Sam, after they've been persuaded to start keeping track of their thoughts by Lucy's mad actress ...

staceyvm 22.03.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

This is the first time I have read any of Ben Eltons books, so I didn't know what to expect. Would Eltons 'style' bear any resemblence to the 'Thatcher'-hating material of his stand-up routines? I was pleasantly surprised! The book is set out using a 'diary' format with Sam and Lucy ( the main characters) often writing concurrently about the same events. This made it any easy book to 'dip' into. It was very funny in places, but also very sad in ...
...me. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like either Sam or Lucy! However, Elton displays a good insight into both male and female perpectives to a range of problems. I have only one complaint about the book and it is one that can be made about many other books I have read recently. The 'beginning' of the story is well written with a good even pace and very witty moments. The middle becomes a bit slow in places and the Wham Bam, the ending arrives ...

imogen 14.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

...i turned to Ben Elton's Inconceivable to shed some humour on the whole thing. And boy did it work. The book is written in the style of two diary's. One of Lucy, and one of Sam. They want to have a baby but things are just not happening. The characters go through it all, hospital tests, results, post coital examinations, shagging on ancient hill top fertility grounds. You name it they try it. Trouble is Sam is a writter, and decides to write a film ...
...Needless to say Lucy doesn't know. I don't want to ruin the story line for any one thinking of giving this book a read, but basically this couple go through everything in the book. You really do feel for Sam when he has to do a sperm test! The characters really are believable, I know coz that was me! I read this book just before we started investigation into our fertility troubles, and when ever i had a test done i thought of the hilareous way ...

sarahlewis31 29.05.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

Inconceivable revolves around a couples determination to concieve a child, Sam and Lucy an average middle-aged couple. It is about how they each cope in their own way with a difficult and personal aspect of their life together. The book tackles the subject of infertility in an often comical manner but still manages to maintain a serious aspect without confusing the reader. This makes the book origional, funny and heart warming. With inconceivable ...
...more enjoyable read to normally non Ben Elton readers. However for some fans this book may lack the normal in your face humour and politics associated with his other work. Yet readers of his other books will not be disappointed with this no less than enthrawling book. A must for every bookshelf. ...

millwall 19.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton

As an avid fan of Ben Elton, I expected this book to be fantastic. It was! I couldn't put it down. I have no experience of what it's like to not be able to have children, but have close friends who do. The book mirrored my conversations with these friends in an amazingly sensitive yet humerous way. The book takes the form of two diaries, a childless couple desperately trying for a baby. She has an office job, he's a film/script writer. Her diary ...
...humorous account of the various medical tests, procedures and bodily functions connected with the whole process of IVF. As a script writer, with a perfect opportunity to write a fantastic script from his own life experiences, he decides to make a film... but... he needs her input. She'd go mad if she knew what he was doing! Enter her diary. He reads, he writes... I won't give it away, you'll just have to buy the book. The sadness in the book is ...

rmhindmarsh 19.05.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Inconceivable - Ben Elton