Inconceivable

Ben Elton

Average Rating 7/10 (2 Reviews)

Lucy desperately wants a baby. Sam is determined to write a hit movie. The problem is that both their efforts seem to be unfruitful. And given the average IVF cycle has about a one in five chance of going into full production, Lucy's chances of getting what she wants are considerably better than Sam's.

What Sam and Lucy are about to go through is absolutely inconceivable. The question is, can their love survive?

Inconceivable confirms Ben Elton as one of Britiain's most significant, entertaining and provocative writers.

Review by Ru (310501) Rating (5/10)
Review by Nigel (170700) Rating (8/10)

Review by Ru
Rating 5/10
This is virtually a novel of the diaries of a married couple, Sam and Lucy. Sam and Lucy are trying for a child but have found that they are in some way not compatible.

The idea of the diaries was used in the book so that the two characters would not be frightened of expressing their true feelings, this made the book more open to show the differences of the male and female emotions.

This was a good idea but does become repetitive and annoying. I did enjoy the novel, it was very funny and emotional in parts but on the whole I found it predictable. It was a book I could put down for a couple of days and pick up again for an hour.

This was the first book I have read by Ben Elton and I'm not in a rush to buy another.
RU (31st May 2001)

Review by Nigel
Rating 8/10
This is the first Ben Elton novel I have read. Although Chrissi keeps on at me to read Stark, I never seem to get around to it. The subject matter for this novel, however, has got to have the most comic potential of any situation you could care to mention, so in I went.

And boy does Ben Elton dish it up a treat. For example, while Lucy deals with the constant 'probing' of doctors with stoic pragmatism, Sam dreads the looming 'legal tug' he has been practising for since puberty as only a man can.

Very funny at times and very sad at others, this novel examines the human relationship from both sides with the inevitable misunderstandings. A very good read and highly recommended.

Note: Better than Relate - It could also save a few marriages if people think about what is being discussed.
Nigel (17th July 2000)