21st Century Dice Man (Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure - Dave Gorman)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure - Dave Gorman
Date:	05/06/04 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amusing and enjoyable, Comical and likeable writing style, Includes photos as verification

Disadvantages: No longer original, Does drag on at times

Define:GOOGLEWH ;ACK


Assuming Dave Gorman?s tale of obsession, adventure and camaraderie is unfamiliar with you the reader, a clear understanding of the book?s title is vital. I shall take it as read that the term ?Adventure? is understood, and the opening words ?Dave Gorman?s? clearly references the author and focus of the book, using the possessive apostrophe for its true function for once, so the only obstacle would appear to be ?Googlewhack.?

Googlewhack is not listed in a dictionary, and is certainly not recognised by Microsoft Word?s tedious spell-checker. The website www.googlewhack.com can explain it much clearer than I, although essentially it is a reference to the popular and excellent search engine Google. If a Google user types in a pair of words and they only return a single, legitimate result ? according to the Googlewhacking rules ? then that website is a ?googlewhack.?

But how could a trivial method of making the office hours pass slightly more enjoyably possibly form the basis for a best-selling book and an internationally acclaimed stand up show? A very good question.

~~~~~~~~~~~~


BACKGROUN& #68;: FAILING TO LEARN THE LESSON


Dave Gorman became something of a household name with his alternative, stat-reality-lecture-comedy show in 2001 in which he invited viewers to follow his meticulously detailed pursuit of fifty-four people who shared his name. Admittedly he was only a household name to those who appreciated his quirky, obsessive style and who spent their late Sunday nights watching BBC 2, but it introduced me to the hilarious and strangely regular man that is Dave Gorman.

Follow
ing his obsessive quest to meet his namesakes, something that his flatmate Danny Wallace inspired in the form of a drunken bet, Dave?s life returned to something approaching normal. He and Danny went their separate ways and Dave?s TV show increased his existing fame on the stand-up circuit.

(N.B.: The adventures of Dave and Danny on their quest for Dave Gormans can be found in the book ?Are You Dave Gorman?? in much more detail than is strictly necessary).

Following the success of his first TV series, Dave was soon back on screens with ?Dave Gorman?s Important Astrology Experiment,? in which he based his actions over a number of weeks solely on advice given in his astrology readings, incredibly literally, to see whether it would genuinely improve his lifestyle in comparison to the laid-back family life lived by his twin brother over the weeks. This series was produced especially for television, and would not realistically translate into a novel or stage show format.


On New Year?s Eve 2002, Dave Gorman allowed himself to accept a bet (under the influence of alcohol once again) that he could not meet ten owners of Googlewhacking websites in a row, having been introduced to the concept when an e-mail informed Dave that his own site, www.davegorman.com, was a Googlewhack. The book opens with Dave groggily waking in Heathrow Airport, finding a plane ticket to Washington D.C. in his pocket.


STYLE


This book is essentially a comedic account of genuine events, earning a ?Travel? classification for its detailed descriptions of the comedian?s global exploits? apart from a missing section on his visit to China, which Dave was not permitted to write about, instead including a frustratingly interesting p
icture of himself being licked by a Chinese man in the central photos section.

I?m sure almost every reader would be able to relate to Dave?s fallible nature and obsessive pursuit of quests in a very irresponsible manner, although hopefully very few would be inspired to attempt their own ?adventures.? This book, even more so than its predecessor, has the ability to reaffirm the reader?s view of humanity in general, as there are examples of kindness, care and enjoyment all based on Dave?s rather foolhardy and pointless quest. Occasionally laugh-out-loud humour, but told from a very dedicated and likeable perspective.

Dave expresses at a number of points his intention to have written a proper novel, a project for which he was given funds and ultimately disregarded once his Googlewhacking got into full swing, and at many points his attempts at a more profound writing style are very obvious. Don?t let this put you off though, as he still writes in a fun style and uses the occasional swear word.

Dave Gorman?s travels take him all over America to meet a man with a gun and some happily married couples in Seattle and to a Mini car convention in Wales, even granting a life-long desire to travel to Holland and meet a pair of lesbians, who enjoy writing raunchy fan fiction of TV shows.


VERDICT: BATTLE OF THE FOOLISH DRUNKEN BETS


Having read the previous book I eagerly awaited my signed copy from W.H. Smith mail order, and thoroughly enjoyed the read, although in some ways it did disappoint me a little. For a start, it is very similar to ?Are You Dave Gorman??, only less enjoyable for a number of reasons. The earlier examples of such books as Tony Hawks? ?
Round Ireland with a Fridge? also makes this less than original.

One of my favourite aspects of ?AYDG?? was the dual narrative it employed, contrasting the exaggerated perspectives of the sensible and realistic Danny with the eccentric and laid-back Dave, and the loss of this device makes this a little less appealing. The complex nature of the mission, based on a series of flow diagrams and the complicated rules of Googlewhacking, also mean it is less easy to understand than the idea of meeting 54 people who share your name.


This is still a very fun read, and I?m sure that the more mature writing style and the less exaggerated, non-character based narrative makes it more genuine and easy to relate to. The inclusion of photographs in both of these books is a bonus, and they do compliment each other in forming an intrusive psychological profile of the rather strange Dave Gorman.

Summary: