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It's All Going Wonderfully Well
It's All Going Wonderfully Well
Oct 1, 2024 8:22 PM

Author:Rosa Hoskins

It's All Going Wonderfully Well

'Will resonate with any bereaved reader' Daily Mail

'A heart-warming memoir' OK

‘Laugh. There’s humour to be found everywhere, even in your darkest days there’s something to joke about. Laugh long and loud and make other people laugh. It’s good for you.

Whatever you do, always give it a good go. Don’t be afraid of failure and disappointment. If you fall flat on your face then get straight back up. You’ll always regret not trying. Disappointment is temporary; regret is forever.

Love with all your heart. In the end, love is the only thing that matters.’

These were just some of the lessons that Rosa’s dad, Bob Hoskins, taught her. In the years following his death, they are words that she keeps close to her heart.

Remembering the times they shared together and featuring interviews with those who knew and worked with her dad – including Judi Dench, Ray Winstone and Robert Zemeckis – IT’S ALL GOING WONDERFULLY WELL is a revealing portrait of one of the country’s best-loved actors, and a moving story of a close bond between father and daughter.

Reviews

Rosa's raw account of Hoskin's bravery in the face of Parkinson's, and her own struggle to accept his death, will resonate with any bereaved reader

—— Daily Mail

[A] heart-warming memoir … A moving story about growing up and the close bond between a father and daughter.

—— OK!

…brilliant six-part comedy drama written by Pete Jackson. Each of the 15-minute vignettes unspool like manic Canterbury Tales, offering a set of soliloquies built around the awkward weekly meetings of disparate characters…The series feels sharp and fresh…

—— Priya Elan , The Guardian

Inspired and inspiring

—— The Radio Times

Thoughtful, recognisable…seriously funny

—— Gillian Reynolds , The Telegraph

Brilliantly played by a solid gold cast

—— Priya Elan , The Guardian

This series never disappoints…the writing and acting is consistently top notch and it balances dark comedy with human sorrow as expertly as a finely tuned racing car

—— The Radio Times , Jane Anderson

Eloquent, moving and funny

—— The Observer , Stephanie Billen

Scientifically unprovable but entertaining, illuminating and lipsmacking . . . a mighty fine and convincing read

—— Classic Rock

There's a bit of a fashion at the moment for books focussing on a particular year and David Hepworth's 1971 is one of the best

—— Choice

Anyone who misses Word magazine like an old friend, has just found the perfect read.

—— Paul Dowswell, author of Auslander

Hepworth lifts the lid on the unrepeatable year when rock's lunatics finally took over the asylum.

—— Chris Adams author of The Grail Guitar -The Search for Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze Telecaster

Full of fascinating detail and obviously a labour of love, a must for anyone who can remember the Seventies or who was there.

—— Rosalind Miles, author of The Women's History of the World

A wonderful piece of work

—— Simon Russell Beale

Without doubt, one of the greatest self-penned appraisals of a popular entertainer's life and work...What makes this book a classic (yes, you heard me) is the beauty of the writing, the seemingly effortless imagery of situations, saints and sinners (EC puts himself in the latter category, often), and the persuasive nature of the text that should make even the most casual reader clamour for more after 670 pages

—— The Quietus

One of the finest musical biographies I have ever read ... an engrossing and rewarding read

—— Keith Bruce , The Herald

The greatest songwriter of our generation ... a tremendous read

—— Jonathan Ross

It really is stunning. Hugely illuminating, fiercely passionate, funny, moving and beautifully written.

—— Mark Billingham

Typically sharp and funny on songwriting

—— Telegraph Books of the Year

The writing is as good as you would expect from such an accomplished lyricist. The tone is wise, warm and often rueful, befitting a 61-year-old elder statesman, and the story a compelling one

—— Mail on Sunday

For serious music fans? It has to be Elvis Costello's Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink (Viking). Utterly definitive and clearly, painstakingly penned by Costello himself, who doesn't want to miss a detail

—— Kitty Empire , Guardian

Writers like Costello because he's always taken writing seriously. That's obvious to anyone who pays attention to his lyrics, and it's even more apparent to anyone who reads Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, his charming new autobiography. The book is refreshingly free of salacious gossip and needless name-dropping; it's an intelligent self-assessment from a musician who went from angry young man to elder statesman of pop ... a defiantly fun autobiography.

—— Michael Schaub , NPR Books

This is a big book, literally, by one of the best rockers in the business. Given the singular, and eclectic, nature of his career, it is no surprise that Elvis Costello's anecdotal autobiography is an idiosyncratic journey through his music and the people and places that have inspired him ... A must for Costello fans everywhere.

—— Booklist (starred review)

Costello's prose cuts with the same spiky wit and observational power as his well-known lyrics ... packed with great lines, vivid anecdotes ... a treat for his many fans.

—— Kirkus Reviews

Plenty of tales to keep the pages turning. Readers will be fascinated by Costello's stories...his book feels like a discussion between friends over a pint.

—— Publishers Weekly

Often brilliant and wholly idiosyncratic

—— David Ulin , Los Angeles Times

Revelatory, evocatively crafted, [and] highly entertaining

—— David Fricke , Rolling Stone

A winningly droll and good-natured guide to his life and many works throughout

—— Clark Collis , Entertainment Weekly

Punctuated with sardonic and self-aware truths

—— Pitchfork

Vivid ... It's not surprising that one of rock's most literate songwriters would pen such a deep, free-form memoir

—— Houston Chronicle

Elvis Costello delivers an impeccably detailed autobiography. He's often as brilliant at turning a phrase in prose as he is in his lyrics

—— Paste Magazine

Enthralling ... This is family history as musical encyclopedia, and to listen to Costello recount his life is to be buttonholed by an enthusiastic fan. Fandom for Costello is inseparable from the compulsion to write songs and, it seems, to understand his own life ... Fortunately for the fan of Costello's music the topic of discussion is often his own songs, and he is, unsurprisingly, a witty and eloquent guide

—— Paul Grimstad , New Republic

[Costello] pens books with the same clever writing that he uses in song

—— Kathy Flanigan , Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Costello['s] book is capacious, clever, and full of heart and soul

—— Dan DeLuca , Philadelphia Inquirer

The story unfolds like a movie that jumps across time, more thematic than chronological, as boyhood anecdotes and obsessions intersect with mature songs and adult reckoning.... The book doubles as a selective mini-history of 20th century music, as told by a discerning guide. He addresses artists both towering (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash) and relatively unheralded (David Ackles, Robert Wyatt) with a fan's affection and music scholar's insight

—— Greg Kot , Chicago Tribune

With an encyclopedic knowledge and appreciation for, and deep love of, music, and with an expressive power and heart, Costello's memoir will take its place in the highest echelons of the genre

—— Library Journal (starred review)

His book is almost essential as an idiosyncratic history of 20th-century pop music

—— Express

Studded with entertaining anecdotes

—— Evening Standard Best Music Books of 2015
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