Once Upon a Time in the West...Country cover art

Once Upon a Time in the West...Country

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Once Upon a Time in the West...Country

By: Tony Hawks
Narrated by: Tony Hawks
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About this listen

Comedian and best-selling author Tony Hawks is embarking on his greatest adventure yet - moving from city life in London to deepest Devon in the West Country.

You can take the man out of the city, but is the countryside ready for him? Comedian and born-and-bred townie Tony Hawks is not afraid of a challenge - or indeed a good bet. He's hitchhiked round Ireland with a fridge and taken on the Moldovan football team at tennis one by one. Now the time has come for his greatest gamble yet - turning his back on comfortable city life to move to the wilds of the West Country.

With his partner, Fran, in tow and their first child on the way, he embraces the rituals of village life with often absurd and hilarious results, introducing us to an ensemble of eclectic characters along the way. One minute he's taking part in a calamitous tractor run, the next he's chairing a village meeting, but of course he still finds time for one last solo adventure before fatherhood arrives - cycling coast to coast with a mini pig called Titch.

In the epic battle of man versus countryside, who will win out?

©2015 Tony Hawks (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton Funny City Witty Village Feel-Good Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Comedy Fatherhood

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Editor reviews

One of Britain’s best-loved comedians and authors, Tony Hawks, has written and narrated his hilarious audiobook Once Upon a Time in the West…Country, a memoir of his move from big-city London life to the villages of the West Country, family in tow. Hear the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows of his challenging adaption to rural living. With good cheer and positivity, Hawks writes of the array of amusing characters he meets along the way. This book is jolly and honest, giving listeners a picturesque scene of country life from a man who tells it best. Available now from Audible.
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I'm a fan of tonys books and have read all so far. This is the first one of his I've listened to and its made me want to hear all his work read by him. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.

loved it!

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What made the experience of listening to Once Upon a Time in the West...Country the most enjoyable?

Very humorous, his description of the characters were excellent and had me laughing out loud at certain points - if you're thinking of moving to the country, this is a good reason why!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The piglet which was an added bonus to the story

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Riding the tractor had me in stitches....

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Its a bit long to do in one sitting, its an easy return to.

Any additional comments?

Tony Hawks voice makes it....its fun and an interesting listen on making the move from the smoke to the rural life!

A gentle stroll through the West Country

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Great narration from Tony Hawkes full of inciteful and interesting facts. Favourite part was the charity bike ride with Titch and the last chapter.... brought a little tear to my eye. If you want to learn how to stop a tractor when the brakes fail..... read this book !

Wonderful, interesting and features a little pig.

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Thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end - Witty possessing true values plus a laugh out loud

A Must

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A funny, believable, interesting, multi-topic, cycle through British weather, pigs and childbirth with some great characters thrown in.

A pleasurable and well read jaunt into Devon

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It's a fun, light hearted and easy read. Hawkes' observations and gentle humour are entertaining. Few laugh out loud moments, but it's made me want to visit Devon.

Enjoyable

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Rather ordinary albeit amusing in parts. Somehow cycling with the pig and the tractor episode seemed to have something missing after the fridge and tennis.

Disappointing after reading previous TH titles

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Love his voice & all the characters. Was sad when it finished. You feel that you are right there with him through all his experiences.

Enjoyable

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I enjoyed the other books by Tony Hawks but this one no real story mundane.

Mundane

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I started reading Tony Hawks's books years ago, back when he used to travel around with a fridge, and play Moldovans at tennis, and try to get a hit single in Albania. I used to wait eagerly for his next book, ready to laugh out loud at his latest crazy exploits.

In this book he... moves to Devon. That really is it. I can't help but feel that Hawks's publishers were also a little underwhelmed by this book, given that their synopsis concludes - "in the epic battle of man versus countryside, who will win out?" Really? Did they actually read this book, or just assume its contents based on his previous stories?

That's not to say that this is a bad book. Hawks is an engaging narrator and a good storyteller. He comes across as a really nice likeable guy, so you're genuinely interested in how things turn out for him.

There is certainly a niche for books written by good storytellers about their everyday ordinary lives, and this falls squarely within it. With one exception, nothing particularly unusual or unexpected happens to Hawks. Having moved from London to Devon he simply settles into slow paced, quiet Devon life.

The thing that lets this book down a little however is that it's rather uneven. A mini-adventure that Hawks goes on with a miniature pig dominates the book, despite not being long or interesting enough to justify such focus. The seemingly minute-by-minute description of his son's birth, whilst obviously of great importance to Hawks, seems to be given rather excessive space in a book about moving to the country.

Overall I'd summarise this as "listenable". I actually finished this book, which probably puts it in the top 50% of books I've listened to, but it was something I dipped in and out of when I had nothing else to listen to, and the last hour or so was more a case of "let's get this one finished". If you're a Hawks fan, planning on moving from a city to the country, or find miniature pigs particularly cute, give it a try.

Once upon a time... Hawks went on adventures

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