A gem of a story. Funny, informative, and deep

Well, to begin the review with the worst things I can say, I did pause listening to this, several chaptere before the end, because although I'd been binge listening, it had become both emotionally heavy and, in pacing, a little slow. The pause lasted several months but when I finished it I greatly enjoyed it. I also wonder how much off my enjoyment stemmed from listening to this book - is it as great to read as to listen to? Is it as funny, without the delivery?

The book was a pleasant surprise for me.

Listening to this actually made me cry tears as I reflected on the tragedy of our existential condition. Listening also made me laugh with joy and sent endorphins charging through my brain. The experience was cathartic.

I really enjoyed this. In half a decade of Audible membership I've never before felt I wanted to write a review (this may well be my first).

This book is clever. The author is emotionally intelligent. The author has a gift for including references to 80's pop culture, both obvious and subtle, in the most inventive and unexpected ways, which is doubly funny in a story about the nostalgia of the narrator. In fact the whole plot (predictable but well cooked, like a finely roasted joint of beef) is obviously in tune with films like 'Back to the Future', and kid's buddy movie. And even so, the principle characters are *real* - in fact in exploring the principal character's emotional experience, I often felt he was describing *me*. More broadly, he is making social commentary about a generation born 1966-1986(+?) who wallow in nostalgia and pay good money to see their childhoods regurgited in slightly more sophisticated form (for isn't that what characterised popular entertainment in the first 2 decades of the 21st Century? With the resurrection of Star Wars, the refusal to let any franchise die, and the triumph of the comic-book movie?) A generation that in some degree had refused to grow up.

The book is informative. Especially at first. It's a lesson on, and reflection about, "Star Wars"... how the film was conceived, influenced, produced and received... why it made such a splash... how the brand has developed... and what it meant to many of the kids watching it. This will resonate especially powerfully if you grew up with Star Wars *before* the Phantom Menace and the Prequel Trilogy. Before the *Special Editions* of 1997. But I think the universality of childhood and of nostalgia will mean that this book is affecting for readers of any generation.

This book is sad. Nostalgia is sad. Middle age is sad. Everything is sad.

This book is uplifting. The world is beautiful, friendship and stories and memories are wonderful. Even the exaggerated interest in and passion for mere "popular culture" is beautiful.

This book is hilarious. There's lots of gentle humour throughout, and the story ending begins with laugh-out-loud developments.

Buy this book. You'll be happy you read it. I recommend listening to it while you do basic chores (housework etc) as it will add emotional colour, imagination and curiosity to an otherwise routine period.

Dear author - please write episode 2 (although it works as a standalone story).

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