THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Robert Webb tried to follow the rules for being a man:
Don't cry
Drink beer
Play rough
Don't talk about feelings

Looking back over his life he asks whether these rules are actually any use. To anyone.

About the Author

Robert Webb has been a male for his whole life. As such, he has been a boy in a world of fighting, pointless posturing, and the insistence that he stop crying. As an adult man, he has enjoyed better luck, both in his work as the Webb half of Mitchell & Webb in the Sony award-winning That Mitchell & Webb Sound and the Bafta award-winning That Mitchell & Webb Look, and as permanent man-boy Jeremy in the acclaimed Peep Show. He also played Bertie Wooster in the acclaimed West End run of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense. Robert has been a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and the New Statesman, and now lives in London with his wife and daughters, where he continues trying to be funny and to fumble beyond general expectations of manhood. He will appear as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.

@arobertwebb

Reviews
Quite simply brilliant. I (genuinely) cried. I (genuinely) laughed out loud. It's profound, touching, personal yet universal . . . I loved it -- J.K. ROWLING
With enormous poignancy and insight . . . Webb's early portrait of himself as a hapless underdog navigating the boulder-strewn path of masculinity is vividly drawn and very funny . . . Echoes of Adrian Mole * * Guardian * *
Takes us deftly from hilarity to heart-stopping hurt . . . A truly great read, full of heart -- DAWN FRENCH
Frank and compelling . . . Laugh-out-loud funny . . . also, in parts, blink-back-tears sad. Why would I blink back tears rather than give full rein to the emotion? Well, Webb can explain * * Mail on Sunday * *
Written with wit and clarity, How Not To Be a Boy is a funny, rueful, truthful book. I enjoyed every page -- STEPHEN FRY
A brilliant telling of a sad story, it is also a manifesto for a change in attitudes . . . I laughed innumerable times and cried twice . . . You should give a copy to any young male you care about ***** * * S Magazine, Sunday Express * *
A witty, honest coming-of-age story with a subtext that tackles masculinity and manhood. Webb has a storytelling skill many would kill for -- IAN RANKIN
Funny, poignant, revealing * * Daily Telegraph * *
Simply brilliant -- JOANNA LUMLEY
Funny and wonderful and necessary -- SARAH MILLICAN


Awards
Winner of Chortle Awards: Book Award 2018 (UK). Short-listed for Books Are My Bag Readers Awards - Non-Fiction 2018 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781786890115
Author Robert Webb
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 249g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 21mm