The Dog Catcher

Item as described in very good condition and also delivered promptly. This book is very amusing and well written, so much so that I have purchased the follow up as well. Would recommend both book and also this seller

Ace. Made me convulse into uncontrolable laughter on a train. Brilliant observations and synonymous Sayle satire. I may have to read it again.

Bought for a friend, we both appreciate dark humour!

i'm not someone who reads alot, infact it takes alot to make me read a book from start to finish. i had this book on my shelf for i think 3yrs and never read it, then one day i finally picked it up and finally started it and gave myself be biggest mental kicking for not reading this fantastically funny, intelligent book before! not only that but when i finished it bought 'barcelona plates' and read it in 2wks! never have i ever read a book in 2wks before! i never though i would find anything that would alight my interest in reading but alexei sayle has managed it, i'm now reading (and lovely) 'the weeping women hotel' have 'bus journey' on the way and looking at what else is out their. if, like me, the idea of reading endless trivial fictional nonesence fills you with nausia READ THIS! as i was reading 'the dog catcher' or any of alexei sayles books, i got the distict feeling that i would ever read anything like it again, i've talked about it with loads of my friends and will be forcing it upon my big brother when i see him next wether he likes it or not! its a fantastic read! insane and fantastic!

Wow what a fantastic collection of short stories! My boyfriend lent me this book to read and I'm so glad that I did! Every story in this collection is original and refreshing, so much so that I have finished this book in under two days! Alexei Sayle has produced a work of quality here - a work which defines him as a writer and stands alone from his talents as a comedian. The Dog Catcher is the main story that stands out from this collection. It is a simple tale yet was still disturbing me the morning after I had read it. It has a dark humour to it, which is something not every writer manages to do well but which Sayle manages to do brilliantly! Other stories from the collection I would recommend people definitely read are 'Barcelona Chairs' and 'Clive Hole'. Every story in this collection is bloody good though and if you get the chance to read them... DO!

After 'Barcelona Plates' I was left feeling that Sayle was in serious danger of being a very credible writer of short stories. In the 'Dog Catcher' he, in my view, cements his reputation. It is often the case that celebrities who turn to writing trade too much on their fame and not enough on their writing talent. Alexei Sayle, however, has produced a work of such quality that it stands alone from his talents as a comedian and script writer. He still teases his readers; he still launches into scything polemics against despots and people in 'the media'. Yet every story in this collection is carefully crafted & thoroughly researched. None of these stories is dashed off in an afternoon, yet each has a freshness which is more than tinged with danger. Some are downright sinister (the title story, for example) and others are wicked parodies (Clive Hole). My advice. Read Barcelona Plates first - the stories here, while still dark, are more 'jaunty'. Then brace yourself for 'The Dog Catcher'. Not only will you be shocked and gripped by the characters and the plots, you will be impressed by the way Alexei Sayle has developed into a short story writer of considerable standing. Bring on the next volume!

Only 2 of the 9 stories barely passed muster for me (Barcelona Plates and The Only Man Stalin Was Afraid of). The others fizzled out in anti-climaxes or non-sequiturs. Doesn't Mr Sayle have an editor to ensure a modicum of reader-friendliness? If you want proper short stories stick to Roald Dahl or Daphne du Maurier.

There’s an unsurprising amount of obscenity in this book, but it saves itself by also being funny. A collection of short stories, first published in 2001, Bizzarre, uncompromising and hilarious. You might remember Alexie Sayle from his participation in ‘The Young Ones’ and if so you will know what to expect. In ‘A Cure for Death’ Edmund Chive is 169 years old and barelly alive – he is being ferried by private plane to the giant laboratory complex that he had had constructed on the outskirts of Milton Kwiksave in Berkshire. “For godsake inject me, there’s not much time le-‘ said Edmund and then he died. But that’s not the end as he journeys on to the after-life he never believed in where he meets all his relatives, but there is one final irony in store. I’m sure Sayle is a much nicer person in real life, but in ‘Clive Hole’ his protagonist is a man in a fairly high-up position in the Media, who just cannot make decisions of which programmes and series’ he should send forward for development. As a result he resorts to climbing into his office window to avoid anyone who might force him into making decisions. As you might think, things don’t go well for him. All of these stories are nothing special, but it is the writing that is thoroughly enjoyable. Though it sometimes descends into a bit of a rant, and is even more enjoyable. In ‘Barcelona Chairs rupert (he insists that his name is not capitalisted) he has a go at modern architects: “It had dawned on him after seven years of university and fifteen years of private practice…that the big b******* of the building world, the Richard Rogers and the Norman Fosters, the work tended to be of the piddling kind. Mostly, in rupert’s case it was too rich, too little taste, private clients who spoilt his grand designs by whining about mundane practicalities, demanding shelves to put their horrible knick-knacks on and ruining his spatial flow by insisting on stupid things like walls and doors…” Great writing this is not, but it is very funny, very sharp and positioned at a time in the future when all the ‘victims’ he attacks certainly are still relevant today.

As a fan of his previous books, "Barcelona Plates" and "Overtaken," I was looking forward to this book of Sayle's short stories published in 2001. The first several stories gave hints of his previous ability to craft quirky sharp-edged characters and satisfying plot twists. Sadly, the overall quality of these stories were poor. The writing was self-consciously intellectual and insularly English. I was unable to continue to finish the last story, a 100 page plodding effort that refused to show any signs of life. Would recommend Barcelona Plates highly and leave this tome in the remainder bin.