The Moaning of Life: The Worldly Wisdom of Karl Pilkington

I first met Karl Pilkington via his globetrotting BBC series An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List. In that gem of a show, hapless homebody Karl travels the far reaches of the earth to dive into adventures that most people can only dream about—and he hates it. That’s the show’s appeal—a grumbly moaner who’d be happier eating biscuits in front of the television is forced into situations and experiences that he often finds torturous. The results are hilarious.

To be honest, I only initially tuned into the show because of Ricky Gervais—I do love me some Rickey Gervais—who, along with Stephen Merchant, acts as Karl’s devilish travel agent, casting Karl into unexpected escapades with impish zeal. At the time, I had no idea who Karl was, and my first impression of him wasn’t a good one. “My god, what a little whiner!” I said to my wife. “Who’d want to watch THIS guy?!” But his unique perspective, appalled reactions, and effortless quips won me over, and I was dying to see what he hated next. My absolute favorite moment was when he traveled to Vanatau—birth place of the bungee jump—and he land-dived from a rickety wooden tower while surrounded by tribesmen who had “their knobs in wicker.” I was in tears after that “dive,” and I laughed about it for hours later.

Needless to say, I became a huge fan, devouring all three seasons of Idiot Abroad. And when I heard about Moaning of Life, I snatched up the book, eager to see if Karl’s worldly exploits would translate to the written word.

For the most part, the book succeeds in capturing the essence of Karl’s quirky travels as he cavorts among various cultures and customs. There are full page images of the interesting people he meets along with conversation excerpts where you can almost hear their accents. He tags along with a private investigator in India, he refuses to eat off a half-naked woman’s body in Africa, he darts across hot coals in Nevada—all the while providing commentary that is uniquely Karl. For fans of Idiot Abroad, it is a continuance of that show and provides nearly as much entertainment, the major change being that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are no longer pulling the strings. Karl is flying solo here, free to delve into experiences of his own choosing and eliminate the things that “do his head in.” For that reason, I feel that Moaning lacks a little of the bite that Idiot had, but it is still an amusing and horizon-expanding romp across this big blue marble.

Bravo, Karl.

my husband loves the character karl pilkington protrays in the tv series by Ricky Gervais.I have purchased all the books about Karl pilkington.

I'm a fan.... Love Carl!

Hysterical.

I bought this book for my husband's birthday. He loved it! The language is quite a bit cleaner than what you see on his TV episodes. Very well written and very entertaining.

This book is one of the funniest I have read.

Dolly Parton Rules!

Very funny. I love Carl's honesty and it comes through in his writing.

This book makes me love Karl Pilkington even more! His wisdom is a water fountain that never goes out of order.

Can't wait to read it again! From the moment I picked it up, until I read the last word I was laughing out loud. Actually woke up my family many nights because I couldn't keep the laughter quiet. Karl says, "I write just how I speak." Yes he does! I could hear his voice and accent as I read and it made it even funnier.