Product Description

Now a major motion picture

“Utterly charming . . . a big-hearted, flawless coming-of-age tale, as scary and funny as your yearbook picture.”
–People (****/Critic’s Choice)

The year is 1985. Brian Jackson, a working-class kid on full scholarship, has started his first term at university. He has a dark secret–a long-held, burning ambition to appear on the wildly popular British TV quiz show University Challenge–and now, finally, it seems the dream is about to become reality. He’s made the school team, and they’ve completed the qualifying rounds and are limbering up for their first televised match. (And, what’s more, he’s fallen head over heels for one of his teammates, the beautiful, brainy, and intimidatingly posh Alice Harbinson.) Life seems perfect and triumph inevitable–but as his world opens up, Brian learns that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

“Fresh, edgy and very funny . . . [Nicholls] has a talent for droll dialogue and a wonderful sense of the ridiculous.”
–USA Today

“Starter for Ten has that elusive Hornby-factor. . . . It’s wincingly funny . . . a prospect to savour.”
–Arena

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #583592 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-23
• Released on: 2007-01-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Much More Than '80's Retro
When I first found this novel while cruising a bookstore, I nearly passed it by without taking it off the shelf. I also nearly put it back on the shelf once I had it down. Why? Well, from the cover description, Mr. Nicholls' work sounds like yet another self-indulging shuffle back in time to when the author was young. Let's face it, too many writers go back to their youth and create a pseudo-memoir of how they wish it had been. I expected that's what this was.

But guess what? I was WAY off the mark and am so glad I didn't go with my first impression. Starter for Ten is an engrossing, funny, witty (NOT the same thing as funny) tale of Brian Jackson, a likable and problem-prone young Englishman from the year 1985. We tag along as he wades through the standard agonies of late adolescent growing pains and look on at his adjustments to an inundation of rapid changes to his life. His working-class past has not always been happy, but Brian emerges from it a relatively optimistic, if self-deprecating, figure and we quickly root for this charming underdog as he starts university with two major goals. Brian's first goal is to be a contestant on a collegiate quiz show favored by his late father; his second and more all-consuming hope, is he wants to gain the love of Alice Harbinson, a leftist, petite-bourgeoisie princess who is also a first-year student at Brian's college. Even while we want things to work out for Brian Jackson, we cringe on his behalf as he pursues the beautiful, flighty Alice, a girl surely he, like we, know is unattainable for a young man of his status (read social class) and personal aptitude.

That's the backbone of the novel's plot, but in among its 300-odd pages, we trek along on some endearing misadventures and cheer for Brian Jackson, wince for him, and want to console him more than a few times, even as we laugh for--or is it AT--him and his sincere efforts to make it on his very uphill climb.

I highly recommend Starter for Ten to anyone who wants to be touched by a fun, light read about beginning college life, while taking a trip back to the era of Thatcher's Britain of the mid-1980's.

Cheers!

Knowing James Mcvoy
I liked it very much, it was a great opportunity to watch more about James Mcvoy work, he is an excelent actor, plays a university guy who is falling in love with the beautiful girl but not exactly the perfect girl, and he discovers real love just beside him, in his best friend, that was a nice story to watch. It brings good memories from your school years. I had a good time with it.

David Nicholls knows his coming-of-age angst
David Nicholls' 'Starter for Ten' was originally released in the US as 'A Question of Attraction.' With BBC Films' cinematic release under the 'Starter...' title (starring James McAvoy of 'Last King of Scotland' fame), Villard is now re-releasing the book Stateside under its original title in order to capture some 'oomph' from the film tie-in.

Anyway, it's a nicely written and enjoyable tale by Nicholls, who surely knows his coming-of-age angst. One observation about the movie vs. book: Nicholls' book version of Rebecca Epstein is a lot more sharper-edged and grow-on-you pretty than Rebecca Hall's on-screen portrayal. Ms. Hall, by contrast, will have you at 'hello.'