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Published:4 December 2008

Alexei’s book sale

GO on, Alexei, be heavy, be philosophical, pretentious even – we can take it.
Not on Tuesday night. At a reading at the Roundhouse from his latest novel Mister Roberts (Sceptre, £12.99), a cerebral literary dissection gets pushed around by the comedy bullies who call out for wacky stand-up.
The mirth and militancy of 1980s Alexei Sayle has been overtaken by motoring columns and user-friendly fiction.
He’s still effervescent and likeable. A brief reading from his novel – quirky expats in Spain – is self-conscious and punctuated by apologies.
His responses at the Q&A lament anodyne modern comics and explain his disillusion with organised movements.
Boris Johnson is invoked as a Thatcherite hate figure for today’s left, and Sayle confesses, razor sharp as ever: “I have a certain liking for him. He’s a libertarian – people are free to f*** each other over.”
ALLAN LEDWARD

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