Audiobook Review - Big Beacon: A Lighthouse Rebuilt, A Broadcaster Reborn
Using an innovative 'dual narrative' structure you sometimes see in films, ‘Big Beacon’ tells the story of how Partridge heroically rebuilt his TV career, rising like a phoenix from the desolate wasteland of local radio to climb to the summit of Mount Primetime and regain the nationwide prominence his talent merits.
But then something quite unexpected and moving happens, because Big Beacon also tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it's not really for them to say.*
Leaving his old life behind and relocating to a small coastal village in Kent, Alan battles through adversity, wins the hearts and minds of a suspicious community, and ultimately shows himself to be a quite wonderful man.
* The two strands will run in tandem, their narrative arcs mirroring each other to make the parallels between the two stories abundantly clear to the less able reader.
Alan
Alan Partridge is one of my favourite comic creations. In recent years I've seen him perform 'Stratagem' on tour, and enjoyed the audiobooks of 'I Partridge' 'We need to talk about Alan' and 'Nomad.' As well as that there's been the 'Mid Morning Matters' radio show from North Norfolk digital, 'From the Oasthouse' podcast series AND the six part magazine show 'This time with Alan Partridge’, 'Scissored Isles' and 'Welcome to the Places of my Life'.
Phew. That's a lot of Alan, so when I started this new audiobook I did have the thought; do we need more Alan, and will there be a dip in the quality?
Dual Narrative
As said above in the blurb, there's a dual narrative to this book. For some, this may be complicated, but thankfully Alan explains it early on. One strand sees Alan attempting to find his way back into broadcasting, which he eventually does with the help of Andy Gray and Richard Keys via a trip to Qatar (one of my favourite passages involves a pizza.)
The other strand is perhaps a side of Alan we hadn't seen before, That of the man taking a step away from the limelight and determined to restore a delipidated lighthouse, which he puts his heart and soul into, bringing him into conflict with locals and builders.
Audiobooks
I've always gone with the audiobooks for Partridge because you're going to read it in his voice anyway, so you might as well hear Coogan perform it. (I wonder how many takes he has to do for some of the passages without cracking up?) His vocabulary and diction is so honed now over the years that I'd recognise him anywhere.
I listened to part of ‘Big Beacon’ at work, and the sex scene with ‘red’ had me in stitches -definitely, a contender for the bad sex in Fiction award, though in fairness the descriptions are intentional. The more trivial Partridge is, the more I enjoy him such as when he's explaining licensing bylaws to a policeman. It’s impossible to highlight one chapter as containing more laughs than another - it’s just ridiculously, consistently, funny.
This Time
As a fan of 'This Time' I thoroughly enjoyed his entry into the world of broadcasting and the deterioration of his relationship with co-anchor Jemmy Gresham.
She is the 'thinking man's thinking woman, privately educated and childless, who enjoys being on TV and instagram.'
It was the unfortunate demise of the co-presenter who suffered a heart attack that afforded him the opportunity,
John's heart could no longer withstand the constant barrage of cream cakes, fags, whiskey and more cream cakes.
He also talks about the 'From the Oasthouse' podcast in which he shocked listeners with a look into his life because he's always been a 'famously private man' but now he was 'letting the dressing gown of his life fall to the floor, and simply saying: 'this is all of me.'
Other favourite chapters include his relationship with his beloved canine 'Seldom' and it was also great to have plenty of his 'dog loyal septuagenarian' assistant Lynn. At one stage Alan also shouts after someone that made me think of a certain ‘Dan’.
Summary
So no, I don't think I'll ever get sick of Alan because, despite his foibles, revisionism, pomposity, bitterness, occasional misogyny and casual racism, self-absorption, and pettiness, he's never deliberately cruel. And there's enough depth to his character that his life is always believable. The quality of the writing from Steve Coogan and his long-time collaborators Neil and Rob Gibbons never dips. Amazing to think that he is nearly thirty years on the go - ‘Knowing me knowing you’ was back in 1994 and ‘I’m Alan Partridge’ was 1997!
I was delighted to read recently that there's a TV series in the pipeline, 'And did those feet...with Alan Partridge' about how he 'reintegrates' to life in the UK after a year in Saudi Arabia. Thankfully plenty more to come from Alan yet.
I honestly think that book/audiobook is the best format for Alan. It’s total partridge and you are mainlining the man and his thoughts without interruption. For some that may seem like a nightmare but if you’re a fan it’s perfect.
I think we can safely say that Alan has bounced back. ‘Big Beacon’ is very much a back of the net, Jurassic Park, jack-a-nack-a-norry from me.
Audiobook 7 Hours 53 minutes
Published October 12, 2023 by Orion Publishing Group Limited