Max, it’s me. I’ve just hit a kangaroo on the Hume. It was horrible. I think I’ve killed it. I’m driving down to break up with Gareth and it just jumped in front of me from nowhere. I think he’s been seeing someone else, you see, so I’m just going to make sure I’ve killed him and drag his body off the road. Hope I haven’t woken you. Love to Daphne.
A break up with her builder boyfriend has left Merridy Eastman single again. But when her agent tells her that a UK publisher has decided to publish her book, things start to look up. When she heads to England for a three month stay, it seems everyone expects her to meet Mr Right while she’s there. But Merridy is just there to launch her book. She’s not expecting to meet her Prince.
Ridiculous Expectations is a funny, real-life tale of an actress-turned-author’s trip to London. Nobody in London seems to understand the title of her book, There’s a Bear in There (and he Wants Swedish), which refers to her time as a presenter on ABC TV’s Playschool, and her later job as receptionist in a brothel. London is in the grips of a debate about legalised prostitution, and Merridy seems to be the target for every protestor. Then there’s the search for her elusive Prince, who everyone is sure she is about to find.
Eastman’s first person voice is both honest and funny, and has the reader turning page after page, unable to put the book down. It is so easy to be caught up in the story that it’s hard to remember this is not fiction – this is Eastman’s real life.
Highly readable.
Ridiculous Expectations: Or How to Find a Prince, by Merridy Eastman
Allen & Unwin, 2006