Not so much a series of short stories, as a collection of recollections between 1 and 4 pages long – from the author the then-slightly-successful South London comedian, Mark Steel. In the nearly 30 years since the book’s publication he’s continued ploughing his comedic furrow but stayed true enough to his roots that these stories are unmistakeably by him. I’d be intrigued to see how he’d tell them differently today. Always political, and usually hilarious. And that says nothing useful about the book, does it?
It’s Not A Runner Bean