Book Review: Sideways - Rex Pickett

I felt that this book would be challenging for me, since I had seen the movie version earlier this year, and loved it. There's always a tendency for the reader to picture the characters as they are in the movie, and falling into that trap could always slightly mar the enjoyment of this book. Rex Pickett's novel is hilarious by painting the two central characters as slightly funnier, and I did not find it to be a problem.

It describes how Miles Raymond, a failed author, senior school teacher and wine buff, takes his friend Jack, to whom he is Best Man, away for a week to California Wine Country, prior to his wedding the following Sunday. Jack is an over-the-hill actor, reduced to voice-over work, and is determined to get some tail before he finally ties the knot. Miles, however, is a manic depressive, who suffers from panic attacks, and he hasn't got over his year-old divorce from Vicky (despite his having caused the break up!). Jack's larger-than-life affable nature contrasts well with Miles' cautious downer approach, and the scene is set for a whole lot of fun.

It's really a buddy caper, where anything that can happen will happen. The passages of food and wine excess are clearly opportunities to drunkenly analyse their own life problems, and to get things horribly wrong on more than one occasion. The book finishes with each of them having a better understanding about each other, and they do have a terrific time.

Apologies for the short review - I reviewed the movie here, and didn't want to repeat the whole storyline, since the majority of the key events appear in both. The book however paints a picture less dark than the movie. They are actually both quite likeable individuals, and have a begrudging respect for each other. Miles' self-loathing principally happens when he's left on his own, stewing in his own shortcomings - around others he's certainly anxious, but uses wine to introduce some levity, and it's at these times that he's bitingly witty, and an intellectual foil for Jack's agreeable teddy bear approach.

I would thoroughly recommend this book - it's a cliche to say "I laughed out loud", but I genuinely did, and that's very rare. I will leave this book a year, and read it again. 8/10.

You can buy this book here.