Last night I finished reading “A Piano in the Pyrenees” by comedian and writer Tony Hawks (publishers mini-website here). This is the fourth book by Tony Hawks that I have read, beginning some years ago with “Around Ireland with a Fridge” and followed by “Playing the Moldovans at Tennis” and “One Hit Wonderland”. I’ve enjoyed all four books and I did enjoy reading the latest one, which is an auto-biographical account of how Hawks, on something of a whim, bought a house in the Pyrenees with the intention of using it as a place to practice the piano. The reader follows Hawks as he gets to know his new neighbours, tries to build a swimming pool and muses on love. The writing is witty but not hilarious and at times I was left feeling that it was a bit embarrassing for a nearly middle-aged single bloke to write so openly about his failures, his friends and his missing love-life etc. (his earlier books have all been based on a deliberately silly venture rather than a relatively normal chunk of his life). Still, it was an easy and fun read, and although he comes across as being someone with a certain amount of inner sadness, he does “bloke banter” very well.
Tim O'Hare 