Customer Reviews
The ideal gift for any fan of the series - By: Dr. George L. Sik, 16 Nov 2008 
Gavin & Stacey has been something of a little phenomenon, winning awards aplenty & appealing to a wide cross-section of ages. Its success liesin creating a skewed but completely believable world populated by eccentric but lovable characters. Its essential sweetness is ideal for disguising the odd completely filthy gag or piercing satirical observation (the surnames of Gavin & Stacey being Shipman & West is only the tip of the iceberg. Here, for example, a police incident report recalling Gavin leaping a ticket barrier evokes uncomfortable parallels with the De Menezes case).
James Corden & Ruth Jones are not only wonderful performers but write with real comic insight into the quirkiness of life & the human condition. The story of Gavin & Stacey is, at heart, a simple one of boy meets girl, but their families & friends throw up such a wealth of eccentricities & foibles that...well...there's a whole book's worth of stuff about them.
The whole thing is presented as a scrapbook of cuttings, documents, Facebook entries etc (I was reminded of The League of Gentlemen's book some years ago or The Goodies Files from way, way back) with much to amuse the fan. It should perhaps be pointed out that someone who doesn't know the series well already may not know quite what to make of it - get the DVDs first!
These titbits flesh out the characters wonderfully. See the order of service from the wedding with Smithy's scribbled notes. Find out more about Ness & John Prescott. Marvel at Gwen's recipes for omelettes.
The star of it all is, of course, Uncle Bryn. Do we find out any more about that mysterious fishing trip? Alas no, but there's plenty to keep us entertained & it's impossible not to hear Rob Brydon's voicein your head as you read these bits.
Allin all, a worthy addition to an unexpected & much deserved success story - & one which proved that BBC3 is capable of giving us something rather better than Two Pints of bloody Lager & a Packet of effing Crisps.
I won't lie to you-this book is lush! - By: V. Rendall, 15 Nov 2008 If you are a G+S fan, you will enjoy this book.It has lots of insights into all the characters, &in a most unusual format-text messages, recipes, letters, & a whole lot more.It was written by the hugely talented Corden & Jones.I, for one, hope they'll relent & give us a third series.
Buy this book, you won't be disappointed.
A cracking read - funny and informative! - By: Ms. L. Goss, 06 Nov 2008 This is a must read for any fan of the show. There's so much to look at, & so many different styles & page designs that this book can be happily swallowedin one go - or just as easily be dippedin & out of as you wish.
I was a big fan of both series, so was slightly worried I would find this a hastily knocked together spin-off, but because it was actually written by Corden & Jones (who devised & wrote Gavin & Stacey) it's been lovingly written with lots of fantastic pictures & original page lay-outs. In fact, it makes a really nice accompaniment to the show as there's so much detailed (and hilarious) information about the characters & settings.
There's a lot to choose from, but I think my favourite page would have to be Smithy's relationship do's & don'ts ("It's completely natural to own up to a dozen porno videos so don't let her tell you any different") although the heartfelt (if one-sided!) correspondence between Nessa & John Prescott is a close second! This book would make a great present, but make sure you have a good look & giggle at it first.
