Our Non-Fiction Book of the Month, VANISHED YEARS, is written by a famous actor but is in no way comparable to the average celebrity memoir. A darkly comic collection of snapshots from Rupert Everett's tumultuous life, the book is like a throwback to the age of Evelyn Waugh or David Niven. Everett's writing is exactly how you imagine his company: urbane, seductive, exuberant, rude, unedited. It is a colloquial, immediate voice, and he writes very well, deftly mixing superficial gossip and profound, reflective moments in the same sentence. Like his previous, highly-acclaimed bestseller, Red Carpet and Other Banana Skins, the book is stuffed with anecdotes that skewer the fashion/showbiz worlds with droll wit. His escape from Alan Sugar and the Apprentice team is franticly funny. There are plenty of debauched parties, lurid clubs and famous faces behaving badly. But this time Everett is more thoughtful about the past, how we remember our lives and those who played a starring role. There are moving chapters on the deaths of Natasha Richardson and Isabella Blow, and a poignant trip to Lourdes. As the Guardian put it, it is 'a tragical, comical, ironical Broadway-hit-show of a life', told with great panache and fearlessness.
Little Brown have 50 copies to give to Mumsnetters - to claim yours please go to the book of the month page. We'll post here when all the copies have gone. If you're not lucky enough to bag one of the free books, you can always get your paperback or Kindle version here.
Once you've got your copy, please come and discuss the book here throughout the month - looking forward to seeing what you all think...