Written by Alan Partridge, (pseudonym for Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Steve Coogan

Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 320
Genre: Humour
Published: 2011-01-01
Original Language: English

Book by Partridge, Alan. Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder: Alan Partridge. Star of action blockbuster Alpha Papa; a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile at St. Luke’s Hospital in Norwich. After replacing Peter Flint as the presenter of Scout About, he entered the top 8 of BBC sports presenters. But Alan’s big break came with his primetime BBC chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You. Sadly, the show battled against poor scheduling, having been put up against News at Ten, then in its heyday. Due to declining ratings, a single catastrophic hitch (the killing of a guest on air) and the dumbing down of network TV, Alan’s show was cancelled. Not to be dissuaded, he embraced this opportunity to wind up his production company, leave London and fulfil a lifelong ambition to return to his roots in local radio. Now single, Alan is an intensely private man but he opens up, for the second time, in this candid, entertaining, often deeply emotional – and of course compelling – memoir, written entirely in his own words. (Alan quickly dispelled the idea of using a ghost writer. With a grade B English Language O-Level, he knew he was up to the task.) He speaks touchingly about his tragic Toblerone addiction, and the painful moment when unsold copies of his first autobiography, Bouncing Back, were pulped like ‘word porridge’. He reveals all about his relationship with his ex-Ukrainian girlfriend, Sonja, with whom he had sex at least twice a day, and the truth about the thick people who make key decisions at the BBC. A literary tour de force, I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan charts the incredible journey of one of our greatest broadcasters.

Read from 2012-05-23 to 2012-06-03
Read in English
Rating: 3/5
Review: I should start by saying, I love Alan Partridge. While I was sceptical to how entertaining I would find this genre, I had high hopes. This book has really good reviews, and, after all, Armando Iannucci writes “The Thick of It”. I, Partridge didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s an entertaining read, but it does drag on a bit, and some chapters are a lot better than others. There are some really funny parts, some great one-liners and very entertaining situations, but nothing that made me feel like I had to turn the page to read on. Perhaps I expected too much. Still a decent read, but not as good as I think it could have been.