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Contacts

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Contacts

By: Mark Watson
Narrated by: Mark Watson
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About this listen

One man’s last journey. One hundred and fifty-eight chances to save his life.

The unforgettable new book from award-winning writer and comedian Mark Watson!
‘Witty, emotional and beautifully written’ Jill Mansell
‘It made me laugh, cry, reflect and want to check in on all my friends’ Emma Gannon

James Chiltern boards the 23:50 sleeper train from London to Edinburgh with two pork pies, six beers and a packet of chocolate digestives. At 23:55 he sends a message to all 158 people in his contacts, telling them that he plans to end his life in the morning. He then switches his phone to flight mode. He’s said goodbye. To him, it’s the end of his story – and time to crack open the biscuits.

But across the world, 158 phones are lighting up with a notification. Phones belonging to his mum. His sister. His ex-best friend. The woman who broke his heart. People he’s lost touch with. People he barely knows. And for them, the message is only the beginning of the journey.

Funny and wise, tender and deeply moving, Contacts is a beautiful story about the weight of loneliness, the importance of kindness – and how it’s never too late to reach out.

©2020 Mark Watson (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Dark Humour Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Comedy Funny Heartfelt Inspiring Witty Thought-Provoking Feel-Good

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Critic reviews

"This is such a great book, funny and serious and daring and humane. I prefer Mark Watson to Leo Tolstoy - both as a novelist and a stand-up comedian." (Richard Curtis)

"Mark Watson is one of my favourite writers and Contacts is by far his best book yet." (Adam Kay)
All stars
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A brilliant premise, I read it in a day, as couldn’t put it down. Great characters and thought provoking.

A wonderful story

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I love all of Mark Watson's work so no surprise I loved this. Witty, beautifully crafted prose, especially the inner dialogues, and an insightful look at how people interact and how they affect each other without being aware of it All read in Mark's unthreatening, slightly chaotic style. Just wonderful.

Just soooo....Mark Watson!

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Really loved it. My favourite of Mark Watson's books and having him read it gives an extra familiarity to the characters. It can be a difficult subject to address but was so relatable that things can very easily and very quickly look bad for you and it's hard to see that it could turn around as quickly.

Based on my recommendation you should buy this

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... but also disconnects us. This was gripping and unexpected. Also, I arrived at this book having seen the author tweet asking people to let him know if they had ever enjoyed anything he had ever done. Someone tweeted this book. I'm sure he's not reading this, but Mark, this is yet another thing you've done which I found compelling.
Totally recommended.

Modern life connects us...

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A deep dive into real problems of real people that is strangely uplifting. I felt like I have met all the characters.

Smart and insightful

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Really enjoyed this book. Does make one think how close we are to the edge.
Enjoyed meeting the various contacts and their reactions.
Ending was a bit of a surprise,
Would recommend

Intriguing story

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I wasn't sure what to expect, but from chapter one I was hooked. Told from the perspectives of everyone affected by the decision of James, the protagonist, Mark Watson handles the subject matter with care, delicacy and humour. It had me both chuckling and sobbing. Mr Watson has gained a firm new fan.

Heartbreaking story, beautifully told

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I loved this warm, clever if not disturbing essay on our profoundly atomised yet deeply bound up existences. A wonderfully powerful story read in the author’s gentle, lovable voice. What’s not to like?!?. Also, I get the impression that the works of Richard Scarry hold a similarly special place in Marks heart as they do in mine which pretty much guaranteed five stars from me quite early on.

Brilliant storytelling by a really great writer ❤️

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The premise of Contacts, a man called James texts a suicide note to everyone in his phone and gets on a night train to fulfil his plan, intrigued me and gripped me due to how relatable the action was to me. As someone who has struggles with mental health issues, I felt that the subject matter of suicide and depressive thoughts were tackled sensitively without trying to preach a right way of going about dealing with these thoughts, never dwelling on the morality of the situation or entertaining any blame on the characters involved in the story. This is just the set-up of the story though.
The rest of the book switches between the lives of the people that James is, in some way, involved in. The cast of characters consist mostly of his sister, his mum, his ex, his roommate and his best friend/old boss and how the shockwave of James's text has an effect on them. This is the majority of the book and it is what I enjoyed so much about listening to it. It's almost like Watchmen in its use of flashbacks to show the reader how James got to his point of desperation, which is hard to pull off in most cases and is executed brilliantly here. I am not normally a fan of "real-life fiction" and yet I was sucked in by the narrative.
Without getting into spoiler territory, I felt that the ending is what really lets the book down. All the craft of what comes before it is lost for something that comes off as rushed and loses all the momentum it has been building up to throughout the novel. It is my only problem that I have with the book. That, and the narration is also not the best but it serves the story well for some characters and moments. I was so ready to recommend this book to everyone but then I would be recommending something that lets itself down at the final hurdle and I don't want to pass on the frustration I have at a novel that does so well, and then falls flat on its face. I've also seen some people describe this book as funny or comedic but I didn't really get this impression. It does go for a very frank approach to events rather than something serious or dire though, so don't go in expecting long Gothic passages about how miserable life is because it's not like that at all.

Good, but disappointing

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Incredible - this really captures the nuance of suicidal thoughts and mental health issues and how things can quickly spiral in a person’s life. I didn’t find it too difficult, it had a lot of light moments and social commentary. Discussion of suicidal thoughts/suicide throughout though - should definitely come with a trigger warning.

Fantastic

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