On The Edge

Richard Hammond's book, then. Jeepers. It's bloody good. If you're already a Hamster fan, you'll be a total devotee by the end of it, so I'm not sure quite what that means for people who are already devoted. And you'll probably be wanting to marry his wife, too. She's fabulous. Already seen doing a great turn on the Jonathon Ross show a few weeks back, she turns out to be a pretty terrific writer, too. Yes, it's her first attempt at a proper book, and yes, that shows in places - but when you're opening up in what seems at times to be a pretty stream of consciousness way, about the terrors and uncertainties of helping somebody through serious brain injuries, you can probably be forgiven the odd repetition and inconsistency. And boy does she open up. Oh, it's not all there. Not all the details, not all the feelings. That's probably more than anybody would be comfortable writing. But there's enough. More than enough to be quite disturbing at times, actually. I'd be sitting there, reaching the end of a chapter and thinking "I can't stop now! Not before he's better!" Like somehow I had to make sure that he was, even though I'd just been watching him on TV a few days earlier. He's fine now, you berk. But still, it's good to read just one more chapter, and be sure...

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