The More You Ignore Me: A Novel

“Seriously Funny.”
—The Mirror (UK) Book of the Week

The funniest and most original import from Britain since Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Jo Brand’s The More You Ignore Me manages to be both poignant and darkly comic at the same time. Actress and comedienne Brand—well known to viewers in the States from her work in Absolutely Fabulous—delivers an outrageous coming-of-age story in the tradition of the Adrian Mole novels, full of dysfunctional family life and celebrity obsession in the 1980s.

A genuinely funny and original novel about mental illness, growing up, and celebrity obsession from much-loved comedienne Jo Brand.

Little Alice's family, tucked away in a cottage in the deepest part of Herefordshire, England, is more than a bit weird. Her mother, Gina, is obsessed with the weatherman on the local news, and when she climbs onto the roof—naked—with her daughter's pet guinea pig in her arms, she is whisked off to the local psychiatric hospital posthaste. Keith, Alice's father, tries to keep calm, but his patience is being severely tested by his in-laws, whose disturbed behavior terrifies the community. Alice is convinced she needs five personalities to cope because a mother-daughter reconciliation seems damned near impossible. And at this point, the stage may be set for even more heartbreak than Alice can imagine.

“It does actually take some talent to distinguish between a teenage crush on a pop star and an obsession borne out of mental illness, but Jo Brand pulls it off. The book is littered with minor endearing characters: Gina’s weary husband Keith; Marie, the family doctor who is secretly in love with him and Mark, Alice’s only close friend. Their three stories become interlinked with a more than satisfactory conclusion. The last line moved me to tears.” - Daily Express (UK)

“The farce always blends with sorrow, and the sense of cartoon families everywhere makes for touching sitcom drama.” - Booklist

“interesting, and quirky, and worth your time” - www.advicesistersblog.blogspot.com

“Seriously Funny.” - The Mirror (UK) Book of the Week

“Funny, poignant and sad.” - The Sun (UK)