Blog Tour: ‘Longhand’ by Andy Hamilton

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Andy Hamilton’s book ‘Longhand’. This was published on 3rd September by Unbound. The tour is organised by Random Things Tours.

From the publisher

‘From beginning to end, a joy to read. A tale of mingled tragedy and comedy,
disaster and triumph … A handwritten love letter to a woman we never meet,
that’s also a love letter to humanity’ NEIL GAIMAN

The new novel from comedy legend Andy Hamilton, whose writing credits include
Outnumbered and Drop the Dead Donkey, Longhand reimagines the life of immortal Greek hero Heracles, who is currently residing in contemporary Scotland with his girlfriend Bess.

Written entirely in Andy’s own longhand, complete with crossings out and edits
Malcolm George Galbraith is a large, somewhat clumsy, Scotsman. He’s being forced to leave the woman he loves behind and needs to explain why.

So he leaves her a handwritten note on the kitchen table (well, more a 300-page letter than a note).

In it, Malcolm decides to start from the beginning and tell the whole story of his long life, something he’s never dared do before.

Because Malcolm isn’t what he seems: he’s had other names and lived in other places. A lot of other places. As it gathers pace, Malcolm’s story combines tragedy, comedy, mystery, a touch of leprosy, several murders, a massacre, a ritual sacrifice, an insane tyrant, two great romances, a landslide, a fire, and a talking fish.

‘A glorious comic novel, a brilliant satire, an artwork and a historical document. Never has the word “readable” meant more. Never has the word “manuscript” been more literal. Hand-written, rib-tickling, spine-tingling and heart-wringing. Uniquely brilliant’ STEPHEN FRY

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My Review

I honestly did not know what to expect from this novel and started it with only three pieces of information:

1. Andy Hamilton is funny – he co-created ‘Drop the Dead Donkey’ and ‘Outnumbered’ and has appeared on numerous other funny TV panel shows so his comedy pedigree isn’t in question.
2. ‘Longhand’ is written in…well, longhand. The whole book is handwritten, mercifully by someone (Hamilton himself) who has beautiful and easy-to-read writing.
3. It’s published by Unbound, the crowdfunded publisher known for some quirky and brilliant books.

So far, so good! What I wasn’t prepared for was the sheer scale and range of this book – geographically, narratively, emotionally… wow, it’s unexpected!

The book purports to be a letter written by a man called Malcolm Galbraith to his partner of twenty years, Bess. He is being forced to leave her and this is his farewell note in which he explains why.

And this is where the story gets really strange. Malcolm isn’t the mild-mannered Scotsman that Bess has known and loved. He actually has a past in which he lived in other places and other times, had other names and identities, and the 350-odd pages of this novel can barely contain it all!

In his chequered past, there are murders, a sacrificial cow, two romances, tyrannical rulers, a massacre, a landslide, a court battle… the reader can start to see that this is no ordinary life. Malcolm has faced great tragedies in his time and only now is he prepared to lay his life story out before (one of) the love(s) of his life, Bess.

I’ll admit that this book has much more emotional depth than I was expecting. Malcolm is being forced to leave and the poignancy of this situation is evident throughout – it is only at the point of leaving that he can share his hidden secrets. And it’s a huge risk – his story is bizarre and incredible, but will it also be unbelievable for Bess?

It’s so hard to review this without giving away the key ideas behind the story which I really don’t want to do because it totally knocked me for six and I think all readers should feel that same incredulity and uncertainty!

However, what can be said is that Malcolm’s story, set in the distant past as it is, reveals a lot about modern society. Through elements which seem disparate from 21st century Britain, we get glimpses of some really big and important ideas. Brexit Britain. The cult of selfishness. Abuse of power. Love’s small intimacies. Death and grief. Family relationships. Not learning from history’s mistakes. The strength of the NHS. Malcolm has experienced it all and has moments of profound wisdom.

Malcolm’s story also has moments of immense tragedy, which I also didn’t really see coming. For something that is ostensibly a funny book, it is very moving. I actually read this book in one sitting because I really needed to see how it ended!

And yes, it is also very funny.

The real joys in the novel are the everyday observations, the juxtaposition of the epic story with Malcolm’s asides about fixing the boiler, the presentation of some lovely comic characters. Without giving anything away, watch out for the football match and Billy’s Dad, the dodgy lawyer, the talking fish and – even more surreally – Elvis.

I’ve admitted that I picked this book up armed with only the three pieces of information at the start of this review. However, I finished reading it (at way after midnight!) with the sense that I’d read something really quite special. It’s way beyond a funny, entertaining read – yes, it ticks those boxes but it is also wise and thought-provoking.

This book really is one that will stay with me for a long time. You should read it!

And if you still aren’t convinced, you only need to look in the back of this book for the sponsors who put their own hard-earned cash into making this book a reality. The people who had faith in this story and in Andy Hamilton include Brenda Blethyn, Rory Bremner, Richard Osman and Neil Gaiman – an impressive roll-call of supporters in anyone’s books.

About the Author

Andy Hamilton is a comedy writer, performer and director. He regularly appears on the BBC TV panel shows Have I Got News for You and on Radio 4’s News
Quiz and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. His television writing credits include Outnumbered, Drop the Dead Donkey, Not the Nine O’Clock News, Trevor’s World of Sport, Ballot Monkeys, Power Monkeys and many others. He also co-created the movie What We Did On Our Holiday. For twenty years he has played Satan in the Radio 4 comedy Old Harry’s Game, which he also writes.