John Hartnett

3/5

The Barber's Conundrum

Amazon.UK
Amazon.com

I didn't like the cover at all, and it didn't stand out against against others in its genre. It came to me as a 'collection of thirty-seven short literary humor pieces and humorous jokes that will make you laugh', so the dull-looking cover contradicted the blurb and I'm not expecting to like it at all, and normally I'd have skipped this book as boring and written by a wanna-be-but-never-gonna-be chancing author on the eBook wave. And even though the blurb was interesting, I'd never have gone on to read it. 

The blurb tells me The Barber's Conundrum it is a non-fiction book of musings of life. I'm intrigued but don't expect the irony and funny situations that I'm promised. Yes, the cover, put me off that much!

The opening chapter is an introduction to the author and why he wrote the book and guess what, it was funny. It was told in a nice, I'm-your-mate way and so I continue to read. Unfortunately the next chapter is football (or soccer. Is there a difference other than one being called football in one country and soccer in another?) so my eyes glaze over, but it picks up again by the third chapter and so I buy the book. 

The 'stories' are short, two to three pages at the most and the writing style is fun and light, and the irony and tongue-in-cheek jokes are all in place. I'm not patronised, and we're 'all on the joke together' as the author takes us through events that most have experienced in one way or another. The stories are American life but only a few chapters went over my head, it's a well-written book, and John Harnett is a funny guy with a talent for satire. 

Blurb:
The Barber's Conundrum and Other Stories is more than just a collection of thirty-seven short literary humor pieces that will make you laugh. It provides a treasure trove of tips and invaluable advice to help you navigate safely through marriage and relationships, raising kids and to finally understand the more peculiar aspects of day to day living that up until now, had been tossed into a big heap as just another one of God's mysteries. 

For example, did you ever wonder why weather reporters continue to stand in the middle of raging hurricanes to tell us what hurricanes are like when everybody else already knows what hurricanes are like? Did you ever wonder why people stop their cars in the middle of the street to let geese walk past even though geese have been flying long before Cro- Magnon Man was in knee pants? Did you ever think that if aliens do exist on our planet, most of them work in customer service? They do! 

All of that, and more is in the book, so what do you say? At $8.99, you're guaranteed to receive at least $10.50 worth of terrific advice and life extending laughter, which as we know is the best medicine, and there's never a co-pay with laughter so you're up well over $20 already and this is only the back cover. Think of the possibilities to save when you read the whole thing.

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