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I started writing a review for Coming from Behind by Howard Jacobson in which I said that it was the funniest book I had read this year, but the moment passed and the review was never completed. It would, in any case, have been a short-lived title, as this is the funniest book I have read this year.

Jimmy Rabbite Sr is unemployed and struggling with the responsibility of being the man of the house. He is a proud man, and his pride is wounded when his son lends him a fiver to go out drinking. But 'a few scoops' of an evening with his mates is emotional sustenance for an unemployed man, for the crack and the companionship.

So Jimmy can't hide his delight when his best friend Bimbo is laid off, and they kill time playing golf. Bimbo has ambition though, and decides to go into business with a chip van. Jimmy joins him as a partner, thinking it will be a good laugh if nothing else.

What follows is the rise and fall of Bimbo's Burgers, and also a lesson in why it is a bad idea to go into business with your best friend.

Throughout it is simply hilarious. From chuckles and laughs through to guffaws and snotting on yourself. Not a book to read on a train, but definitely one to revel in and then pass on to your friends.

While Jacobson's humour is in wry observation, the running gag and the wit of a cleverly crafted sentence, Doyle's is in conversation and farcical situations - very much in the Lesley Thomas vein. But Doyle writing is so distinctive you would recognise his work without seeing the cover, and it is so natural that it is only after a few pages that you realise you are reading in a broad irish accent.

Marvellous.

Five stars (out of five)