And Away...

By: Bob Mortimer

Narrated by: Bob Mortimer

The number one bestseller and Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year by national treasure Bob Mortimer.
‘The most life-affirming, joyful read of the year’ - Sunday Times

‘Winningly heartfelt’ – The Guardian

‘A triumph’ – Daily Mail
Bob Mortimer’s life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him, but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away…

Although his childhood in Middlesbrough was normal on the surface, it was tinged by the loss of his dad, and his own various misadventures (now infamous from his appearances on Would I Lie to You?), from burning down the family home to starting a short-lived punk band called Dog Dirt. As an adult, he trained as a solicitor and moved to London. Though he was doing pretty well (the South London Press once crowned him ‘The Cockroach King’ after a successful verdict), a chance encounter in a pub in the 1980s with a young comedian going by the name Vic Reeves set his life on a different track. And now, six years on, the heart condition that once threatened his career has instead led to new success on BBC2’s Gone Fishing.

Warm, profound, and irrepressibly funny, And Away… is Bob’s full life story (with a few lies thrown in for good measure.)

Critic reviews

‘a triumph… And Away is as good a celebrity autobiography as you could hope to read, and enthusiastically recommend.’

‘…(a) fascinating and often poignant memoir.’

‘The book, too, grows more confident in talking about serious subjects as it progresses and it’s the honesty and openness that he allows in Gone Fishing that make And Away…, by the end, an unexpectedly moving read’

‘A glorious collection of stories from an extraordinary life. Once you put it down, you may get the immediate urge to pick it up again. Yes, you couldn’t let it lie.’

‘Bob Mortimer is pretty much established as a national treasure…So it's great to hear his story of how he got there first-hand…In the end he has become loved for being himself. And maybe that's the best type of success of all.’

‘Bob’s recent reinvention via the …Gone Fishing series means a whole new audience might indeed be surprised at how many different things he’s done and will particularly admire the non-showbiz route to stardom in our age of driven but ultimately vacuous and content-free superstars.’

‘It’s a precarious world, but And Away... is a heartfelt testament to the magic of finding your happy place within it.’

‘(a) touching, funny autobiography.'

‘(a) comic masterpiece of a memoir: melancholically amusing, warm and witty’

‘Filled with anecdotes from Mortimer’s life, And Away… contrasts humour with a deeper contemplation of life following his open-heart surgery’

‘…deftly combines all the varied aspects of Mortimer’s eventful, fascinating life and paints a fully three-dimensional picture of this much-loved figure’

‘…it’s everything you would want from the man who is the highlight of every show you see him on’

Delightful!!

Love Bob Mortimer! His sense of humour is so whimsical to me. My own laughter catches me off guard because sometimes it’s hard to know where he’s going. But I think that is a big part of his charm!

If you know Vic and Bob…

You know those rare books, where you want to keep listening, where you really can’t help but grow in your admiration of the author, want to get to the end, but know when you do, it’s going to be sad, that there isn’t more?

This really is one of those books.

Bob isn’t the greatest, most polished of orators and you do get the feeling that he is reading, especially at the beginning. But that’s really what this is all about. Bob being Robert and telling an endearing story about his struggles, his upbringing and his unexpected trajectory to becoming a ‘shooting star’.

This has everything in it, from early childhood, life, loves and losses, through to the Jarvis Cocker / Michael Jackson
incident up to his heart issues and fishing.

I’ve always liked Bob. He always seemed so unassuming and real. This book only proves that his true life character of Robert isn’t any different.

A true aficionado of the humble pie and mash and lover of processed meats and pocket cheese.

Thanks for sharing Bob.
Wishing you many more fish, ‘on the end of the stick’!

To all the cats I have loved and lost...

This is a surprisingly touching story of a shy Boro boy, touched by some tragedy early on like.
A genuine laugh out noisily kind of read.
a well written and read book (although the reader sounds nothing like Bob)

Gentle and humorous

I really liked listening to Bob and his take on life. I didn’t know he was so shy and his advice at the end was perfect! I’m going to miss listening to him now the book is finished.

Bob Mortimer is a UK national treasure

A beautifully read biography- very nicely constructed that will both make you laugh and bring a tear to the eye
Bob Mortimer is not only one of the UKs most successful comedians but a thoroughly decent and very very likeable character.
I would recommend this book/ audio book to all- everyone will get something out of it.