Nigiri Law by Barry Varkel – So many firsts…first funny book on the South African law process, first time I have heard of a stand-up comedian who is a qualified and practicing attorney and author on top of that and the first time I have done a book review for Tech4Law.
Barry Varkel, referred to by his client as “Mr Belly” tells of his experience handling a divorce matter for his client, a sushi restaurant owner who speaks very little English. There is a great amount of humour, including the scary trip to court for his bewildered client.
The funny story takes a rather unexpected twist when Arata takes a trip in between court appearances. Barry’s writing manner illustrates the foreign accent cleverly.
The book is a easy to read 77 pages. Beware though, Barry’s descriptive humour sometimes gets a little dark and twisted and foul mouthed. (This book is not for the easily offended.)
I enjoyed the book. A number of times I found myself trying to persuade Arata to take a different path in my mind. It is a worthwhile read for all adults, whether involved in the legal fraternity or not.
Published by No Bullshit Books
Printed by The Printing Press
ESBN 978-0-620-78029-2
Available from The Book Lounge
+27 (0) 21 462 2425
booklounge@gmail.com
Price R135.00
An incredibly hilarious romp thru the legal profession, sparing no sacred cows (or dogs if that’s your palate preference).
I’m struck by how versitile this lawyer is – is he a comedic lawyer or a comic who happens to be a lawyer.
All I can say is that the book is very funny, so funny that a flight attendant asked me to lower my voice as I read the book on the airplane toilet.
I enjoyed his witty observations abt the human condition which I found more accurate than most comics.
I can’t wait for the next one
Zak, thanks for the comments. I am glad you enjoyed it, he does describe things rather accurately and with great vivid descriptions 😉
Barry Varkel’s semi auto biographical master piece explores the Deep depths of the south African law system in a divorce case that isn’t as straightforward as any other although Barry soldiers up to the task in his humerus book if you only read one book in your life this is the book
Iwan, thanks for the positive comments and feedback. I will make sure Barry sees them.
[quote name=”Iwan lord of haugun”]Barry Varkel’s semi auto biographical master piece explores the Deep depths of the south African law system in a divorce case that isn’t as straightforward as any other although Barry soldiers up to the task in his humerus book if you only read one book in your life this is the book[/quote]
Arata! Arata!Arata! The character in the story who keeps you thirsting to read the next page. It was like I couldn’t get enough of Arata and even when I think I knew what would happen next, on flipping the page my guess was a failure. I love how the mystery unfolds, Barry is excellent at accents and his analogies are point on!
A great read, with a bit of **** jargon in there, which adds humor and flavor! 🙂
Note to anyone thinking of a divorce—-don’t do it! If your partner is anything like Arata, it may cost you more than you bargain for, like your 65 year old mother’s head (literally)!
Cheers Barry!
Looking forward to the next read