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A Class Act
- Life as a working-class man in a middle-class world
- Narrated by: Rob Beckett
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Rob Beckett never seems to fit in. At work, in the middle-class world of television and comedy, he’s the laddie, cockney geezer, but to his mates down the pub in south-east London, he’s the theatrical one, a media luvvie. Even at home, his wife and kids are posher than him.
In this hilarious exploration of class, Rob compares his life growing up as a working-class kid to the life he lives now, trying to understand where he truly belongs.
Will he always be that fat kid who was told he’d never be a high-flyer? Why does he feel ashamed if he does anything vaguely middle class? Will he ever favour craft beer over lager? What happens if you eat 50 olives and drink two bottles of champagne? Why is boner such a funny word?
In search of answers, Rob relives the moments in his life when the class divide couldn’t be more obvious. Whether it’s the gig for rich bankers that was worse than Matt Hancock hosting the GQ Men of the Year Awards, turning up at a swanky celebrity house party with a blue bag of cans from the offy or identifying the root of his ambition as a childhood incident involving soiled pants and Jurassic Park, Rob digs deep.
A Class Act is his funny, candid and often moving account of what it feels like to be an outsider and the valuable (sometimes humiliating) life lessons he’s learned along the way.
Critic Reviews
"Pacy, witty and affectionate." (Guardian)
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What listeners say about A Class Act
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 30-10-2021
Funny, Honest & Incredibly Relatable!
Excellently written and narrated by Rob Beckett. Tons of laugh out loud moments and honest, relatable anecdotes for any Londoner with a knowing chip on their shoulder about public schools and privilege!
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- Anonymous User
- 28-11-2021
Genuinely sad after finishing this one!
Bloody brilliant! Totally relatable and some great stories. Love the parenting hell podcast so downloaded this one and was far from disappointed. Great listen.
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- smulvs
- 02-11-2021
Funny look at the class system
I really enjoyed listening to Rob narrate his book, it’s funny, honest and relatable… the differences in families and then putting two different traditions to make your own new traditions when you have your own children is absolutely true… I love the Father Christmas story…
Well done!
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-04-2022
thoroughly enjoyed it
really good down to earth insight to his life. he is very open and honest about everything.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-06-2022
Thank you Rob
I came across Rob through his Parenting Hell podcast and thought I’d give the book a go. While I’m in Australia and we don’t have the emphasis on class as the UK, I still found it enjoyable. Full of great stories and laugh out loud moments with some more serious messages about mental health and looking after yourself. Thanks Rob!
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- Linda Rankine
- 24-10-2021
Loved it!
Genuine, loving, smart, self-aware, funny bloke. Loved here in Australia. So glad you narrated this yourself, Rob. Congratulations x
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- Katy Jones
- 01-11-2021
I laughed, I cried, I learned!
I really enjoyed this book, and particularly enjoyed hearing it read by Rob himself. As a fan of his stand-up, panel show appearances and the Parenting Hell Podcast (basically anything that is available in Australia), I enjoyed hearing in his own voice his recollections and perceptions on things. Some things were revelatory and others resonated strongly. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a laugh, a story of a battler making it despite their own fears, the maturation of a shy boy into a brave and wise performer and father, and commentary on classism and the effects of internalizing it.
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- Nicola Jones
- 18-01-2022
Laughed and Cried
I felt so many familiar feelings about my own childhood and journey so far listening to this book the main differences being that I’m older than Rob and female.
I really laughed out loud but found also cried at the moments of Rob’s anguish, anxiety and genuine love for his family. There is, in my opinion, no greater accomplishment than to love your family.
I hope he writes more, he is clearly an intelligent man no matter how many times he wears that bucket hat - surely there some expanding to be done on the Full Beckett experience. I also loved his wife’s words in there about her in-laws. I’m so glad he’s great mates with Tom Allen because I absolutely loved his book as well. I don’t usually read autobiography but these two have been my favourite by far.
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- Anonymous User
- 20-11-2021
Wonderful.
Loved it. Honest, funny, relatable, just genuinely a great book. Plus it’s always better when the author reads it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 14-01-2022
Brilliant
Absolutely loved this book it was a great look at life. I could have listened to Rob for hours more!
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