Contacts: From the award-winning comedian, the most heartwarming, touching and funny fiction book

Product Information

One of Mark Watson's previous novels, Eleven, is counted amongst my favourites and I enjoy both his humour and his writing. Imagine what your first thought would be when your phone lights up with a new message, and you read the words that someone is saying goodbye to you. It’s been some time since I cried at a book, but this one packs an emotional punch that all but made it an inevitability. Contacts by Mark Watson is going to be hard to review because though I enjoyed it – to an extent – my main issue with it is the content (underlining premise) itself.

I would like to thank Harper Collins and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.I have to admit, I wasn’t completely satisfied with one particular part of the ending – it seemed a bit sudden and the person in question’s character seemed devastatingly brief, considering their part in it all. However its not the big disasters that crack him, but the multitude of small sadnesses and loneliness that grind him down.

From his estranged sister, now living in Australia, to his widowed Mother, his ex-girlfriend, ex-best friend and his current flatmate, everyone has their own reaction to the message. It’s hard to read the novel without reflecting on where his knowledge of suicidal thoughts came from (Watson has been quite open in the past about his struggles with his own mental health) but I thought this made the writing feel completely authentic.Contacts by Mark Watson has such a unique premise and I was intrigued on how it was going to play out. In a move that steps away from James’ immediate pain to also look at the sense of helplessness and disbelief felt by his friends and family, the story oscillates between the gravity of his situation and the way in which such a bombshell forces others to rethink what they know about the people in their lives. Life just happens, it unfolds, and we tend to assume that those we know are ok, unless they are going through a major crisis. He attended Henleaze Junior school and then Bristol Grammar School, where he won the prize of 'Gabbler of the year', before going to Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied English, graduating with first class honours.

This book is written by comedian Mark Watson and though James’ thoughts and experiences and his friends’ and families’ reflection on their relationship with James are often raw and poignant, (I’m afraid) the topic itself meant it really did not hit or even tickle my funny bone.

I enjoyed the style of story telling, but felt that it was unfinished at the point of resolution for James.