Weirdo

The debut novel from the bestselling and award-winning comedian Sara Pascoe.

I hope since our chat he thinks I'm normal . . . I told him that I was several times.

Deep in Essex and her own thoughts, Sophie had a feeling something was going to happen and then it did. Chris has entered the pub and re-entered her life. Just as she's finally stopped thinking about him. Now Sophie has a chance at creating a happier ending and paying off her emotional debts (if not her financial ones). All she has to do is act exactly like a normal person and not say any of her inner monologue out loud. If she can suppress her light paranoia and pathological lying, maybe she'll even end up getting the guy she wants?

Review

A tremendously exciting voice. Pascoe has something to say and a thoroughly engaging way of saying it. ― The Times

Part of the joy of Weirdois not knowing what to expect, or rather in having your expectations subverted by Sophie's smoothie-maker of a mind...This off-kilter perceptiveness manifests as the kind of precise observations you might expect from stand-up Pascoe: the crowdfunding hell of modern weddings, the bitter rivalry of unlikely sisters, the kinds of shit jobs people have when they move to London without a plan...Very funny. Pascoe is equally good, though, on the unfunny bits... this [debut novel] will stick with you for a long time. -- Ella Risbridger ― Guardian

Oh my god. Sara Pascoe's Weirdo is INTENSE and also BRILLIANT. The thwarted confusion and rage of a woman living in a world designed for men. It's so dark, but also funny and forensically astute. Definitely not your average (a huge compliment). -- Marian Keyes

You've never been inside a head like Sophie's - Sara Pascoe has written a book that is both quietly profound and laughing-in-public funny -- Caitlin Moran

Weirdois moving and bittersweet and clever. I feel like I haven't seen a character like Sophie anywhere ever before . . . As well as all the laughs itis a very tender book - imagining 'how to be worthy of boybands' lyrics' as a teenager made me flip inside out with recognition. As did a lot of Sophie's inner workings . . . I love it. -- Emma Jane Unsworth

A tragicomic masterpiece. Sara's voice is so piercing and powerful. Sophie's raw vulnerability is scarily and brilliantly resonant. It's moving, vivid and real, and it will stay with me for a long time. -- Daisy Buchanan

Very, very funny. It's also brilliantly, acutely observed. But it's much more than a comic novel: it's also bleak and moving and disturbing in some really interesting ways . . . The ending is sublime, one of the best final pages I've read. -- Rebecca Wait

If Camus was raised in Essex and lived in the patriarchy, this is the book he would have written. A book for all the weirdos out there, finding their way in the world, hilarious and heartbreaking at every sentence. Just brilliant. -- Cariad Lloyd

You might expect it to be funny - and it absolutely is but the humour is always anchored in spot-on observation rather than slapstick. It also co-exists with something much darker and sadder. . . Weirdo evolves into a far deeper meditation on how it feels to be lost - in your relationship, your family, your job and even your own mind. It reminded me of Susannah Dickey's Tennis Lessons or Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times but with a narrative verve all of its own. -- Elizabeth Day

About the Author

Sara is a multi award-winning comedian, writer and actor. In addition to filming her BBC stand up special, LadsLadsLads, she wrote and starred in her own sitcom Out Of Her Mind (BBC2) and is the celebrated host of The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC2), Last Woman On Earth (BBC2), Comedians Giving Lectures (Dave) and Guessable (Comedy Central). Sara wrote and starred in the BBC Radio 4 series Modern Monkey and the BBC2 short Sara Pascoe vs Monogamy - which was inspired by her first book, Animal. Her second book, Sex Power Money was a Sunday Times bestseller, and the accompanying podcast has garnered millions of listens and multiple award nominations.