Journal Entry 1 by Fantasma from Carnaxide, Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Thursday, December 11, 2003

"Pel Dalton's life is uneventful. He spends his days bluffing through an IT job in the university library, pillow-fighting with his two sons and finding new things to argue about with Ursula, his German girlfriend. But all this is about to change. When his boss suddenly disappears, and Pel steps reluctantly into his shoes, his life begins to spiral out of control. Stolen money, missing colleagues, ominous calls from Hong Kong, and something nasty beneath the university foundations are only the beginning of Pel's problems. Faced with embarrassing PTA meetings and a fridge that really needs defrosting, Pel is about to learn that sometimes the things that drive you crazy can be the only things that keep you sane."
(amazon.co.uk) 

Journal Entry 2 by Fantasma from Carnaxide, Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Saturday, November 17, 2007

Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m humourless. Maybe I don’t understand. Maybe I’m too daft to see the joke. Maybe this book sucks!

I’ve had it for quite a long time, bought it really curious more than 4 years ago and expecting a laugh out loud book, but somehow it got stuck in my huge To Be Read pile. Now I entered an “Unread Authors” challenge and decided it was the best of times to pick it up. I should never have waited 4 years because I should never have bought it!
I really hope that the author’s real life isn’t like that, that the book represents a stupid and horrific “make up”. In the book cover it said: "in this rupturing funny tale of love...", and I’m still thinking where to find in all the 300+ pages, the love and the fun. Pel and his girlfriend spend all the time fighting and insulting each other, nothing is ever well done or do they show some kind of affection for each other. In my opinion, that’s not a normal thing in a relationship, yeah, everybody fights once in a while, but come on, everyday, every time, for everything?! And funny? What, all the absurd situations Pel gets involved in, every day? He doesn’t know almost anything about his job and the work he’s supposed to do, and he doesn’t give a damn, he just chooses to pretend to be very good at it and, consequently, ends up always being involved in – have I said it already?? – very stupid situations.
Well, it must be me that doesn’t get the joke….

I only read the book till the end because I was really believing that it HAD to change at some point and compensate me for all the time wasted. It didn’t.