Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Man in the Moon cover art

The Man in the Moon

By: Andrew Barrow
Narrated by: John Sackville
Pre-order free with Premium Plus

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order for $21.99

Pre-order for $21.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Nostalgic, razor-sharp and deliciously peculiar, this is a weird but wonderful comedy of manners by the award-winning author of The Tap Dancer.

William is a lonely young man on the loose in the late 1960s. A disastrous appearance as a stand-up comic in a pub called The Man In the Moon is only the start of his adventures, in which he consorts with theatrical types, frenzied advertising men and accident-prone lodgers.

William’s exploits lead him eventually to the consulting rooms of a Harley Street psychiatrist, where his delusions that he is a comic genius can finally be laid bare.

©1996 Andrew Barrow (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

‘Another splendidly surreal book from Mr Barrow’s pen . . . Beautifully written, with a splendid eye for the inconsequential detail’ Jennifer Paterson, Spectator

The Man in the Moon cuts a ripping tear through the elaborations of the current English tragi-comic novel’ Iain Finlayson, Financial Times

‘A splendid straight-faced comedy, not to be missed’ Penelope Fitzgerald, Evening Standard

‘Andrew Barrow’s deadpan wit and extraordinary ear for dialogue turn this short novel into a comic masterpiece’ Selina Hastings, Sunday Telegraph

‘Possibly the most misanthropic novel I’ve read since Gulliver’s Travels’ Lucy Atkins, Guardian

What listeners say about The Man in the Moon

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.