merridy eastman – Aussie Reviews

How Now Brown Frau, by Merridy Eastman

n her first book there’s a Bear in There Merridy Eastman shared her life away from stage and the small screen working as a receptionist in a brothel. Her second book Ridiculous Expectations shared her story of travelling to England for a book tour only to meet and fall in love with a handsome German named Tom. Now, in her third book, the story continues.

Right. This was it. There was no turning back now, I thought, glancing at the tall German sitting by my side as we sped down the A92 towards Munich. here began my new life in Bavaria , with a man I’d met eight months earlier on a jetty in Lymington.
‘Your thing is on inside out, he’d said then, gently touching the sleeve of my cardigan.
In her first book there’s a Bear in There Merridy Eastman shared her life away from stage and the small screen working as a receptionist in a brothel. Her second book Ridiculous Expectations shared her story of travelling to England for a book tour only to meet and fall in love with a handsome German named Tom. Now, in her third book, the story continues, with her arrival to live in Bavaria, four months pregnant and unable to speak German.

How Now Brown Frau does pick up where the second book left off, which will delight fans of the previous books, but is also self contained enough to read on its own. Eastman is forthright and funny, sharing her experiences with an honesty which is delightful, and often laugh out loud funny.

Witty, clever and true.

How Now Brown Frau, by Merridy Eastman
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN9781741759754

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Ridiculous Expectations, by Merridy Eastman

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