David Nicholls

Entering the university on a scholarship, a young middle-class Englishman harbors an ambition to appear on a television quiz show, an endeavor that, once attained, is challenged by his feelings for a posh teammate.

Starter for Ten

It's 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition - to make it onto TV's foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on 'The Challenge' than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress, Alice Harbinson. When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all. He's going to win the game, at any cost, because - after all - everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge . . . STARTER FOR TEN is a comedy about love, class, growing-up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom. Are you up to the challenge of the funniest novel in years?

Flavia Louise

I can't say that I didn't enjoy this book but it falls into a category - that is hard for me to name - of books that just always fail to really amaze me. I know that it would have taken me weeks to get through this book under different (and actually a lot more average) conditions. But I did read through it which really does say something about it. The story was just quite unoriginal to me. 3.25 stars.

Starter for Ten

Reviews