Hello Sailor (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Hello Sailor
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Eric Idle
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Satire
publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson (hardcover); Futura Publications (paperback)
pub_date = 1975
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages = 169
isbn = ISBN 0297769294
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Hello Sailor" is a novel written by Eric Idle and consists of several interweaving stories. The novel's structure is jagged, and its characters odd and unusual. The conclusion of the book is unusual in that the majority of text on the last page is blacked out, allowing the reader to choose the ending he or she would most prefer.

tory

"Hello Sailor" is a satirical view of British politics. Key plot points in the novel, include a secret of the British Prime minister, and a "space first" by an astronaut named Sickert. Also, during the course of the novel, every Minister's daughter is seduced.cite web |url=http://arago4.tnw.utwente.nl/stonedead/publications/other-books/main .html|title=Other Python-related Books: Hello, Sailor|publisher= [http://arago4.tnw.utwente.nl/stonedead/main.html Monty Python's Flying Circus in Australia] |accessdate=2008-07-10|language=English ] Characters included in the plot include a stuffed corpse which serves the post of Foreign Secretary.

Background

Eric Idle wrote "Hello Sailor", his first novel, in 1970.cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A701434|title=Eric Idle - Comedian, Writer and Actor|date=2002-02-26|accessdate=2008-07-10|work = h2g2|publisher=BBC|language=English] The book was first printed in 1975 hardcover by the London publishers of fiction, Weidenfeld & Nicolson.cite web |url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=lapl&tabID=T002&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CH1000048824&&docId=GALE|H1000048824&docType=GALE&docLevel=FULLTEXT|title=Eric Idle|date=2006-04-28|accessdate=2008-07-10|publisher=Contemporary Authors Online|language=English (subscription only)] An article on h2g2 attributes the delay in time between the book's writing and its publication to Idle's distrust of the publishing industry. As a literary work from a highly notable performer, the novel was reviewed in "The Times Literary Supplement" on March 21, 1975. [cite journal | date = March 21, 1975 | title = Hello Sailor (review) | journal = The Times Literary Supplement | pages = p. 293 | location = London | language = English ] The original hardcover book did not sell very well,cite web |url=http://www.eric-idle.com/ericbio.html|title=Biography|date=2002-02-26|accessdate=2008-07-10|publisher= [http://www.eric-idle.com/ www.eric-idle.com] |language=English] but the book was reprinted the same year by Futura Publications. This paperpack issue of the novel was a moderate success.

Though the book sold well, it remains one of Idle's lesser-known works, and is notable as the first published novel by a member of the Monty Python team. (The second would be Michael Palin's "Hemingway's Chair", published in 1995.) Idle poked fun at the obscurity of his first novel in a review of Irish novelist, Roddy Doyle's "A Star Called Henry" (1999), writing of Doyle, "anyone who has read "Hello Sailor" (my first scurrilous novel published 22 years ago) deserves a plug." [cite news |title=What Book? [1st Edition] |publisher=Daily Mail|pages=p. 57language=English ] In an interview with "The Globe and Mail" in 2002, Idle a gain made reference to the rarity of the book, quipping, "Worth quite a bit on the Internet, I hear." [cite web |first=Sarah|last=Hampson|url=http://www.dailyllama.com/news/2002/llama137.html|title=Eric's naughty bits|publisher=The Globe and Mail|accessdate=2008-07-10|date=2002-05-25|pages=p. R3|language=English ]

In his diary entry for February 22, 1975, Michael Palin linked the novel with the dissolution of the Monty Python team. On the day of the diary entry, Idle visited Palin at his home, bringing him an autographed copy of the book. At his home, Idle informed Palin of his decision to leave the team. Palin noted that the novel as well as other solo work by Idle indicated that he was uncomfortable with the restraints the team and the series placed on his career. Idle, according to Palin, was "understandably anxious to shed his old Python Skin... he's moving on, like John did." [cite book |title=Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years |last=Palin |first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Palin |year=2006 |location=New York |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |isbn=0-297-84436-9|pages=p. 209-210]

References

Reviews

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