I expect this book annoys anyone who has to shelve books for a living, which way up does it go? The gimmick is that one side is the story of the hen weekend and the other side is the story of the stag weekend of a thirty-something couple. I found the stag section more enjoyable, and especially how Mike Gayle decides to essentially miss out all the drunkenness, because to someone sober it'll be boring, especially reading it. One quote from the stag section: 'I don't want to watch some miserable economic migrant taking off her kit while her dead eyes scream how much she hates me.' The hen is not as well-drawn and the friends feel a bit flat and uninteresting compared to the stag, but it was enjoyable to counterpoint the two. I read the stag first, but I can't see any reason why you can't read the hen first. I'm reluctant to hand out just one star but I don't think this was quite two stars. It was pretty damn bad. I simply do not know what has happened to Gayle - he used to be an entertaining writer, with sharp views on the relationships between men and women. This was dialled-in tosh of the highest level. The gimmick of following both hen and stag nights could have been a decent idea, except for the fact that the writing was lazy, the plotting was barely-there and the ending was terrible. This really is one to be missed, unless you are a Gayle completist and need to read all of his books.
What do You think about The Stag And Hen Weekend (2000)?
I didnt get very far with this book. I found it really hard to get in to and pretty boring =/
—Princess
Not a great story. Novel idea having the book in two halfs but let down by the writing.
—Aiden
An ok read but a little disappointed with the ending
—tessybear
