Why did I choose this book?
I chose this on audiobook because I love Gone Fishing — and because I genuinely care about Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse. 🎧🎣💙
This review isn’t part of any promotion, blog tour, or publicity. It’s simply my honest response to a story I deliberately sought out and took the time to read.
About The Audiobook:
Join these two comedy greats and lifelong friends on their journey from recuperation to riverbank in this hilarious and heart-warming audiobook that gives you a front-row seat at an exclusive Bob and Paul production.
Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have been friends for 30 years, but when life intervened, what was once a joyous and spontaneous friendship dwindled to the odd phone call or occasional catch up. Then, Glory Be! They were both diagnosed with heart disease and realised that time is short. They’d better spend it fishing….
So they dusted off their kits, chucked on their waders and ventured into the achingly beautiful British countryside to fish, rediscover the joys of their friendship and ruminate on some of life’s most profound questions, such as: How did we get so old? Where are all the fish? What are your favourite pocket meats? What should we do if we find a corpse?
Following the success of the BBC’s Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing series, this wonderful audiobook by two lifelong friends is a love letter to the joys of angling, the thrill of the catch and the virtue of having a right daft laff with your mates. On the fish, the equipment, the food, and the locations, Gone Fishing is the perfect audiobook for fans of Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse and for anyone who wants to listen to a brilliantly written and endlessly funny joint memoir on life, friendship and joys of fishing.
Audio edition includes an exclusive fishing trip with Bob and Paul.
My Thoughts:
I chose the audiobook of Gone Fishing because I love the television series — but also because I care about Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse. They’re two genuinely likeable gentlemen who feel reassuringly human, especially as they talk openly about getting older, slowing down, and the health scares that changed how they now live their lives.
Listening to this felt less like an audiobook and more like eavesdropping on a conversation at the next table in a quiet coffee shop. Bob and Paul narrate it themselves, and that makes all the difference. Their voices, pauses, laughter, and gentle asides give the book an intimacy that simply wouldn’t exist on the page alone. At times, it even felt as though they were aware I was listening — a small comment here, a moment of warmth there — which made the experience oddly comforting.
There’s humour, of course, but it’s not forced. It’s the same gentle, sometimes rambling humour that fans of the show will recognise immediately. Alongside that, there’s honesty about fear, vulnerability, and how close both men have come to losing things they now hold dear. The book quietly reflects on friendship, routine, nature, and finding peace in small moments — especially when life has given you a sharp reminder of its fragility.
What I loved most is how unpolished it feels, in the best possible way. It doesn’t try to be profound, yet somehow it often is. It’s about fishing, yes — but it’s also about time, gratitude, and learning to live more gently with yourself.
This isn’t a book you rush through. It’s one you sit with. And as an audiobook, narrated by Bob and Paul themselves, it felt like a privilege to listen in.
A beautiful, comforting listen — and one I’m very glad I chose to experience this way.
This review may also appear on my social media and selected book platforms. All links are correct at the time of posting.
#BobMortimer #PaulWhitehouse #MortimerAndWhitehouse #GoneFishing #TVTieIn #Humour
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