I had that Will Self in the back of my cab...

[miniturecabriolet]

mini-cabs & motobike couriers.rool.OK

[ronnie2407]

Even Will Self sounds downbeat and bored reading this terribly overblown and improbable book

[docattheradarstation]

great writer, but the stereotype of the cabby gets annoying at times.

[ianpender]

Paucity of talent. Poor writing. This guy needs to be taken down to earth for occupying his plinth unjustly and for being a pretentious twat.

[SqueakyProductions]

My mate Danny (currently doing the knowledge) was interviewed for the research of this book, it seems Mr Self needed knowledge boys to get an idea of the world they inhabit.

Not knowing how much more research was done for the book, I'd imagine that at least some of the dialogue must be lifted from real life.

[artbizness]

Heh.

I wonder how many cabs they took before they found that creaky one:

"No! Not creaky enough! Find another one!"

I'm also still pondering the couplet "wet gaberdine".

[artificial10]

All black cabs are creaky, especially if you're drunk!

But I wonder if this driver realised what was going on in the back of his cab and that Self was taking the piss (surely he couldn't hear all the swearing). That's quite funny.

[KingofClothFair]

Ooh...Will Self up his own backside shock...there's a turn up for the books.

[rorylion99]

cobblecake

[fingersjones]

Mr Self

Friday 23 March, saw you at Heston services about 4pm. No strange thing there. But, I was concerned about the number cabs, essex boys mostly was my guess, with flags - i made out the word 'ill' - forming at a safe distance behind as you pulled away ... probably nothing to do with the book: but i live in the traffic (oh we who dwell in the wilderness) and these things stand out a little ... hope you are ok.

fingers

[celeriac2000]

Working class people swear a fucking lot - its an astute fucking observation. They also use the c word but I cunt bring myself to type that.

[entertainusall]

Not sure I'd want Will Self driving my cab, but he's a very amusing addition to the London landscape. He should be signed up by a Japanese tourist company straight away.

[thatguyleon]

There is only one thing funnier than reading Will Self. It's listening to Will Self reading Will Self.

[BelatedCommiseration]

He's very drole...but personally I prefer reading Will Self to actually listening to him read one of his books. Its only when you listen to him read his novels that you get the impression that he is really a disconnected toff, with some clever ideas, but a fundamental misunderstanding of the actualites of life, with largely stereotypical ideas about how the 'lower types' speak and act.

[Seeki]

i don't think he's really a toff. i know he went to oxford but he doesn't strike me as really upper class.

[revengeonEC1]

i think you've made a very fundamental mis-judgement of Self's entire works. ALL of his novels, novellas and short stories take place in parallel universes based (looslely at times) on the one we inhabit. Look at How The Dead Live, for example. As for his attitude to the 'lower classes' - he was a heroin addict living in London slums for most of his post-University life (until meeting Ms. Orr) so I think he's got more of an idea of the gritty underside of London than either you or I.

[pulpwriter]

It's fun to pretend that somebody just slyly recorded a mad fare reading out loud.

Will making squeaky wiper sound effects has made my day.