An author goes on a book tour of scenic New Zealand with his best friend and his special needs cat. Sounds wonderful, right? Not so much. Billed as hilarious, the first 3/4 of the book is almost exclusively potty and sex-based (bordering on assault) humor. I enjoy a good potty joke, but these were just gross. When the best friend goes away, leaving the author with his precious cat (who saved the book from a pan), the book improves. Not recommended unless you want to read about a sweet relationship between a special needs cat and a man. Do have your dictionary handy! I had to look up the $25 (as opposed to nickel) words at least every other page and often multiple times on a page. What does flagitiousness mean anyway? ( )

It's different enough from the movie that it's a fresh read, but has the same great premise. ( )

Guion ( )

So much better than the movie! And I liked the movie!

I was surprised (I know I shouldn't've been) that there was SO MUCH MORE to the book than the film. And I'm a screenwriter. And prolific reader. Why was I surprised?!

Now I'll have to watch the movie again and compare what I (or they) missed - and why.

The book was a little sluggish to get started (I remember how that was cleverly adapted to the film, actually! ;-) ) but the book was SO MUCH FUNNIER and DEEPER - than the flick (at least to my recall, I'll edit this if I'm misremembering the viewing - it was a long time ago!). But the wine talk kept you entertained as the plot slowly unfurled - and ramped up.

Really, what a lovely book! A fun, entertaining read. ( )

Sideways: A Novel by Rex Pickett (2004)