An enjoyable book not to read maybe, but to listen to as Sutherland speaks like a Rumpole of the Bailey. But that’s also his weak point, he comes across as bombastic on audio because he’s just that good at playing a character, yet I found I wanted to see his words on the page, so I could make more sense of them and make notes from the multiple examples he gives to prove his thesis that we would all be better off in trying to understand (and sell to) our fellow humans if we stopped treating us flesh-and-blood entities as rational actors. We are not. And while that may not be an entirely original thought, it is one that needs reenforcing in this oh-so-rational age of productivity hacks and efficiency gains that sap the fun (and humanity) from life. His other main point is that a lot of problems could be solved if we simply reframed them. The flat for sale has no lift? Reframe it as coming with a free daily exercise routine that will save you the price of a gym membership. A cheeky sleight of hand? Certainly. But that doesn’t make it wrong.
No. 7 of 50 books I intend to read and review in 2024.
I’m Patrick Sherriff, an Englishman who survived 13 years working for newspapers in the US, UK and Japan. Between teaching English lessons at my conversation school in Abiko, Japan, I write and illustrate textbooks for non-native speakers of English, release Hana Walker mystery novels, short stories, paint, and write essays and Our Man in Abiko, a monthly newsletter highlighting good writing in English, often about about Japan, art, crime fiction and teaching.
Patrick Sherriff 