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Infidelity for First-Time Fathers
The party invitations that used to read "Bring Bottles and First Aid kit. 8pm till police raid" now say "Ben is one. Help us celebrate. Please leave quietly before afternoon nap." It seems that life is moving on but Dag is not quite ready to move with it. When his fiancée becomes pregnant, Dag panics, and begins an affair with the much younger Cat. But when Cat announces her pregnancy, Dag is faced with a terrifying dilemma that Barrowcliffe paints with his signature with and humor.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
51 people want to read
About the author
Mark Barrowcliffe
13 books25 followersAka M.D. Lachlan.
He grew up in Coventry and studied at the University of Sussex. He worked as a journalist and also as a stand-up comedian before he started writing his first novel, Girlfriend 44. He lives and writes in Brighton, England and South Cambridgeshire. Ron Howard secured the film rights for Girlfriend 44 and Infidelity for First Time Fathers is in development with 2929.
Barrowcliffe achieved early success in the late 1990s as part of the Lad Lit movement, although his writing has little in common with other writers who were bracketed under that heading. He is nearer to Terry Southern, Jonathan Coe and Martin Amis than he is to Nick Hornby or Mike Gayle.This is more than likely a matter of presentation, as most of the British versions of his novels have appeared in the candy-coloured covers favoured by lad and chick lit publishers.
Barrowcliffe's early work was noted for its cynicism and black humour, although Lucky Dog strikes a lighter tone, that of comedic magic realism.
At his best Barrowcliffe can be irreverent and very funny. Rugby, for instance, is described as 'a game invented by the English public schools in order to encourage homosexuality'. Of a woman who has had a tough time and put on weight, he says 'her life had hit the crash barriers and it looked as though an air bag had gone off inside her face'. He is also insightful. Lucky Dog, for instance, says a lot about how we cope with death, our own and those of the people we love.
Sometimes, though, particularly in his first novel Girlfriend 44, Barrowcliffe can be long winded in his comic diversions.
The Elfish Gene is a memoir of growing up uncool, confused, and obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games.
Barrowcliffe is certainly one of Britain's more original and interesting new writers but it remains to be seen if he can survive being labelled as part of the Lad Lit fad.
He grew up in Coventry and studied at the University of Sussex. He worked as a journalist and also as a stand-up comedian before he started writing his first novel, Girlfriend 44. He lives and writes in Brighton, England and South Cambridgeshire. Ron Howard secured the film rights for Girlfriend 44 and Infidelity for First Time Fathers is in development with 2929.
Barrowcliffe achieved early success in the late 1990s as part of the Lad Lit movement, although his writing has little in common with other writers who were bracketed under that heading. He is nearer to Terry Southern, Jonathan Coe and Martin Amis than he is to Nick Hornby or Mike Gayle.This is more than likely a matter of presentation, as most of the British versions of his novels have appeared in the candy-coloured covers favoured by lad and chick lit publishers.
Barrowcliffe's early work was noted for its cynicism and black humour, although Lucky Dog strikes a lighter tone, that of comedic magic realism.
At his best Barrowcliffe can be irreverent and very funny. Rugby, for instance, is described as 'a game invented by the English public schools in order to encourage homosexuality'. Of a woman who has had a tough time and put on weight, he says 'her life had hit the crash barriers and it looked as though an air bag had gone off inside her face'. He is also insightful. Lucky Dog, for instance, says a lot about how we cope with death, our own and those of the people we love.
Sometimes, though, particularly in his first novel Girlfriend 44, Barrowcliffe can be long winded in his comic diversions.
The Elfish Gene is a memoir of growing up uncool, confused, and obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games.
Barrowcliffe is certainly one of Britain's more original and interesting new writers but it remains to be seen if he can survive being labelled as part of the Lad Lit fad.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 27, 2008
You soon realise why this book is in the bargain bin. The author has clearly read a bit of Tony Parsons and Nick Hornby and said 'I'll have a piece of that, thank you'. If you took out the over-wrought metaphors, you'd have nothing left. Started out with promise, but rapidly headed into territory that has been covered before.
September 7, 2007
Stewart Dagman (Dag), a mid thirties British bloke, is engaged to be married to his live-in girlfriend of ten years, Andrea Ellis. And guess what? She's pregnant. But Dag also has this fresh young "bit on the side," Cat Gray, and guess what? She's pregnant too. So what's a guy to do?
On one hand, I found INFIDELITY FOR FIRST-TIME FATHERS side splittingly funny -- even the thoroughly British parts that a poor American like me didn't get. Dag is being assailed by a fiancee whose desire for the physical is much greater than his own, and Barrowcliffe does a hilarious job of describing the way men in their thirties and forties are continually cruising for women in their twenties. The story is a comic roller-coaster, the reader propelled from one twist to the next. I don't think there's a single potential turn that Barrowcliffe failed to make, except for the one at the end. There he crashed.
Which brings me to the part that isn't funny: The entire plot. It could have been an interesting (and yes, still funny) tale of a guy's attempt to do the right thing, but Dag doesn't hold up his end of the deal. He comes across incredibly selfish and unlikable, which would be fine if he wasn't the lead character, but he is, and three hundred some pages in his whiny company are enough to kill any joke and completely total any "deeper meaning" the story might have fostered. His slapstick conversations with his best friend, Henderson, don't improve matters. Basically the reading experience consists of following an immature guy through a series of incomplete breakups and near misses while he makes sometimes apropos, sometimes totally nutty comments about everything from politics to relationships (what else?) to dealing with your in-laws. And the thugs? The electronic surveillance? The births? Can we strain credulity any further?
When I first read INFIDELITY FOR FIRST-TIME FATHERS, I laughed. I fully admit I laughed. But I'm not laughing now.
On one hand, I found INFIDELITY FOR FIRST-TIME FATHERS side splittingly funny -- even the thoroughly British parts that a poor American like me didn't get. Dag is being assailed by a fiancee whose desire for the physical is much greater than his own, and Barrowcliffe does a hilarious job of describing the way men in their thirties and forties are continually cruising for women in their twenties. The story is a comic roller-coaster, the reader propelled from one twist to the next. I don't think there's a single potential turn that Barrowcliffe failed to make, except for the one at the end. There he crashed.
Which brings me to the part that isn't funny: The entire plot. It could have been an interesting (and yes, still funny) tale of a guy's attempt to do the right thing, but Dag doesn't hold up his end of the deal. He comes across incredibly selfish and unlikable, which would be fine if he wasn't the lead character, but he is, and three hundred some pages in his whiny company are enough to kill any joke and completely total any "deeper meaning" the story might have fostered. His slapstick conversations with his best friend, Henderson, don't improve matters. Basically the reading experience consists of following an immature guy through a series of incomplete breakups and near misses while he makes sometimes apropos, sometimes totally nutty comments about everything from politics to relationships (what else?) to dealing with your in-laws. And the thugs? The electronic surveillance? The births? Can we strain credulity any further?
When I first read INFIDELITY FOR FIRST-TIME FATHERS, I laughed. I fully admit I laughed. But I'm not laughing now.
February 7, 2017
I really didn't like this book and would have given it only 1 star but I did actually find it quite easy to get through so I moved it up to 2 stars.
To be fair to the book, I was predisposed to dislike it just from the title. I hate books about men who have reached their 30s and try to justify infidelity by a "mid life crisis".
Stewart is the horrible and unhappy protagonist in this book. He does actually want children - just not with the person he has been in a relationship with for 8 years. Rather than breaking up with her like a normal person, Stewart has decided to have an affair. Low and behold, both women get pregnant at the same time (the mistress with twins).
Stewart then behaves despicably to both women and just wants them to make the decision for him which is essentially what happens at the end. He absolutely did not deserve a happy ending.
To be fair to the book, I was predisposed to dislike it just from the title. I hate books about men who have reached their 30s and try to justify infidelity by a "mid life crisis".
Stewart is the horrible and unhappy protagonist in this book. He does actually want children - just not with the person he has been in a relationship with for 8 years. Rather than breaking up with her like a normal person, Stewart has decided to have an affair. Low and behold, both women get pregnant at the same time (the mistress with twins).
Stewart then behaves despicably to both women and just wants them to make the decision for him which is essentially what happens at the end. He absolutely did not deserve a happy ending.
February 10, 2009
(Spoilers)
Not the worst thing I ever read, but two things bothered me about this book.
1. The author is extremely long-winded in all of his humor. I felt like I had read two paragraphs until he got to the punchline, and by then I had forgotten what in the hell he was talking about.
2. The author did the thing I hoped he wouldn't do, which is have the protagonist's fiancee cheat on him too, so it almost justified that he cheated as well. And he made the baby not his. Oh, isn't everything wrapped up in a nice little package then? NO! I wanted Maury Povich-esque paternity tests up in this story.
Not the worst thing I ever read, but two things bothered me about this book.
1. The author is extremely long-winded in all of his humor. I felt like I had read two paragraphs until he got to the punchline, and by then I had forgotten what in the hell he was talking about.
2. The author did the thing I hoped he wouldn't do, which is have the protagonist's fiancee cheat on him too, so it almost justified that he cheated as well. And he made the baby not his. Oh, isn't everything wrapped up in a nice little package then? NO! I wanted Maury Povich-esque paternity tests up in this story.
September 1, 2022
I think one of the big problems with this book is that the main character Stewart, is a wanker. My opinion of him doesn't change throughout the book, you just sort of get used to it.
The story is okay, nothing special, nobody is really that likable in the book, apart from I had a soft sport for Dave the lesbian. It was funny in places but it took me ages to get into it. Not bad but there are better books out there.
The story is okay, nothing special, nobody is really that likable in the book, apart from I had a soft sport for Dave the lesbian. It was funny in places but it took me ages to get into it. Not bad but there are better books out there.
May 6, 2019
I was sort of morbidly intrigued by the title, I think, but this isn't my type of book. Interesting as a romance novel from the male point of view, I guess, but the characters felt shallow and I didn't understand a lot of the slang. I looked up some of that but it started to seem pointless. Easy read, though.
March 18, 2018
Garbage. Six pages of long winded, crude, laddish “humour” was enough. I used to never abandon books, but life is too short and I knew this was just going to annoy me.
October 30, 2016
Nope, not my type. I didn't find it funny and it was a drag. Won't recommend it.
December 1, 2011
As all books are to me, the beginning can be a little slow and dull. But once I passed the first few chapters, the pace of the storyline gradually picks up. But with this book, I was intrigued the moment I started! I was surprised that it began with an introduction of who the character is and what sort of person he is. Mark Barrowcliffe certainly jumped straight into deep waters and enjoyed himself wallowing in it. Trouble was already afoot and the author just knew how to make things worse without so much of dropping a hint. I definitely didn't expect the ending and I was quite surprised when I discovered the whole thing was a setup. It was all he could do to keep the book from leaving my hands.
April 7, 2008
I stumbled across this while browsing the library stacks and I'm glad I did. I love this book. It's a manual of everything that can go wrong in a man's life after between the quarter-life and mid-life crises. Stewart Dag finds himself having to choose between his pregnant fiancee and his equally pregnant "bit on the side." This modern day Hamlet does a spectacular job of digging an even deeper hole. Throw in some nimble dialogue, witty commentary, and apt insight from the oddest places and this is a great book.
January 30, 2011
I was hoping this would be a little grittier. It was actually a light-hearted comedy that turns out exactly as one expects it to. I liked the honestly and the character's lack of ability to make any sort of adult decision for himself (I might know a few men like this) and he draws out every terrible situation until the female gets fed up and makes the tough decisions for him. It was worth reading but wouldn't pick it up again.
June 9, 2007
This book was definitely on my list of "embarrassed-to-admit-I-read-it" books. I was going through a let's just call it 'thought-provoking' period of my life and was somewhat bitter, you could say. The title speaks for itself as to the content of the book. It was mildly entertaining enough, though.
June 14, 2007
Good book. Nice twist towards the end. A bit predictable, but overall it was worth the read. A good beach / travel book.
cantfinish
February 18, 2008I couldn't even get past the first chapter. Too much...crap. Why can't people say something straight forward? Beating around the bush makes me tired.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2009
An amusing tale, with a writing style reminiscent of Nick Hornby
September 5, 2011
Laddish, as it was intended to be and good fun, this is a good read.
Read
April 22, 2010lol!
February 26, 2011
It is good and fun, but he repeats too many times the same "joke".
July 3, 2008
A lot like Bridgete Jone's Diary
May 7, 2014
Shocking.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews