Normally I'm not a short stories book reader. I like through-narratives. But what held these sometimes grim, sometimes funny (always witty and knowing) stories together is thr writer's sensibility, and presence/celebrity. The bar, drinking, drugs lifestyle that is often common is perhaps written flippantly and seems familiar ..buy, enjoyable. Nearly wholly successful ...

As with all short stories there are going to be ones that you like more than others as a reader, but in this case I'd say that only about a quarter really spoke to me.
I liked Everett's style and turn of phrase, and also how varied the settings were for each story but over all I didn't enjoy the book as much as I'd hoped.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The American No by Rupert Everett

This is a book of eight short stories by this well-known actor who I have always admired greatly. There are stories of love and loss, grief and rejection but with a lot of humour thrown in.

As with all short stories, there were some I loved and some that went over my head a bit. I thought that some of the stories were very long and could have easily been trimmed down without taking too much away from the story. Everett’s talents shine through in his beautiful, lyrical prose and his larger than life characters.

I would be very interested in reading more by Mr. Everett. Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book.

This is a strange book, not a collection of short stories more a collection of thoughts, stories, scripts etc loosely tied together. It’s a somewhat unsatisfying read as you don’t know what you are getting next. There are a couple of strong ( very long) short stories, pieces that you question whether they are autobiographical, a script, excerpts of his Oscar Wilde work and more. Much is excellent and all is entertaining but it doesn’t add up to a very satisfying whole. One for the Rupert Everett fans I think. It’s great fun though.

Rupert Everett is familiar to me as an actor who I saw on stage in November 2023 playing father in John Motimers 'A Voyage Round My Father' at Nottingham Theatre Royal. Mortimer being a favourite author of mine. In addition to 'The American No' Rupert has written two novels and two memoirs as well as contributing articles to a variety of newspapers and magazines. 'The American No ' is a collection of stories very different to any other collections I have read but many are written using the knowledge of an experienced actor which as a fan of the theatre appealed to me. An enjoyable read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

With an endearing mixture of mild horror, flippant campery and down-to-earth everyday gayness, these not-so-short stories show off the author’s ability to coin a telling phrase, to capture nuances of speech and to write with clarity and precision.

Unfortunately I read them at an awkward time for me:having just read the latest Hollinghurst and having faced the death of my life partner, my mood was not right, and so, to do them justice, I need to read them again with the attention they doubtless deserve.

They are very recommendable and give a tantalising insight into a Rupert Everett less waspish, more subtle and more insightful than I had envisioned.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Abacus for the digital review copy

I am not the biggest fan of short stories but I am a bit of a fan of the author! And anyway, these aren't really all what you'd class as short stories... Indeed, I think that there are several that can be expanded into novellas at least, maybe even novels, or screenplays.
I won't go into much detail apart from to say that each story is well plotted and said plot executed with aplomb, starring well created characters, some of whom are larger than life. The writing is sublime and full of humour, almost lyrical at times, it definitely flows well from the page.
There are seven stories in total and, of course, I have my favourites but I would be hard pressed to find a bad one amongst them. I especially loved the definition of the American No in the introduction...
I also think that this is one of the books that I will be revisiting on Audible, once out. I do think there is more to be found within these stories in that medium.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I was excited to read this, and though I found the writing excellent in the introduction, I found myself rereading every paragraph in the first story several times and still kit taking anything in. I don’t understand why, but couldn’t continue..

I was curious as I wanted to know how a Mr Everett wrote and I was glad it was a good reading experience.
More novella than short stories they're well plotted and interesting
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have been a fan of Rupert Everett for sometime so I was very interested to explore his stories and very much admire and enjoyed his storytelling.

A collection of not-so-short stories by Rupert Everett which showcases his imagination and ability to translate this into good quality writing. I have not read anything he’s written before and really enjoyed most of these, the one that I have to admit not to reading properly, but skimming, was the last: The end of time which is more of a script for a play based on Swann’s Way by Proust, I believe.
I felt that a couple: Cuddles and Associates and Ten Pound Pom could be extended into standalone novels. I enjoyed the characterisation, settings and stories (although I did feel that the ending of Ten Pound Pom was a little bit of a copout!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6838405010
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6838405010
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6838405010

This collection of colourful short(ish) stories from the entertaining Mr Everett didn't disappoint. Evocative, raw, and tragic at times. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

This was set to archive in October and the archive was moved forward to July - I hadn't planned to read it until next month.
Apologies I can't provide a review.
It would be handy to have the correct archive date showing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.
I'm sure it's a great book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Publishers for a copy of “ The American No” for an honest review.

I’ve found previous non fiction books by Rupert Everett really entertaining and well written , and I’ve recommended them to others in the past.
To be fair I’m not a big fan of short stories , although those in this book are not particularly that short.
I can appreciate that they were very well written and witty , but unfortunately , for me, I wasn’t really sold on the stories ., but it’s only my personal choice..