Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Kitty Flanagan, Allen & Unwin, $29.99.
One of Australia’s best-known comedians, Kitty Flanagan admits 488 Rules for Life is not a self-help book because it’s not you who needs help, it’s other people.
With rules for language, food, dating, fashion, technology, travel and more, Kitty says “I am making the world a more pleasant place to live. Thank God for me.”
What started as a skit on Flanagan’s popular segment on ABC TV’s The Weekly, is now a quintessential reference book with the power to change society (or at least make it a bit less irritating).
Thanks to Flanagan’s guide to modern behaviour, our world will soon be a much better place. A place where people don’t ruin the fruit salad by putting banana in it; where your co-workers respect your olfactory system and don’t reheat their fish curry in the office microwave, and where middle-aged men don’t have ponytails.
A lot of people just don’t know the rules. Whether they’re walking and texting, asphyxiating you on public transport with their noxious perfume cloud or leaving one useless square of toilet paper on the roll, deep down people are said to be craving for rules.
The rise in rude conduct and lack of basic courtesy could possibly be due to ignorance, but with this comprehensive reference book at your fingertips there can be no excuses for bad conduct.
Whatever level of rule disciple you are, know that reading this book and observing these rules will definitely make the world a nicer place. Kitty even tells you how to use this book which is divided into sections, each containing a range of rules. “Some are fairly basic, things that everyone should already know; others are more specific and are for the people I call genuine rule enthusiasts. And occasionally you will come across rules so particular and persnickety that only absolute zealots like myself will be able to get on board”.
488 Rules for Life is Flanagan’s way of making the world a more pleasant place to live. Providing you with the antidote to every annoying little thing, these rules are not made to be broken.
