Fat

Fat is a 2006 novel by Rob Grant. Unlike his previous solo novels, this one is set closer to the present day. The novel follows three main characters and focuses on the Well Farm Project, a dieting camp to help the population lose weight.


 * The Alleged Car: Grenville's hatchback, which he manages to destroy.
 * And Now for Someone Completely Different: The book jumps between the three main characters every chapter.
 * And Now for Something Completely Different: One of the chapters is an anger management guide by Dr Alan Roth, who claims he is Not That Kind of Doctor. Another is Grenville's recipe for boiling eggs.
 * Author Avatar: Grenville is a clear Expy of Grant himself with a hint of Gordon Ramsey.
 * Berserk Button: Do not call Grenville fat if you want the local area to remain undamaged.
 * Big Eater: Grenville.
 * Big Fat Future
 * Brick Joke: When firing him, the producers of Cook It, Change It, Dig It tell Grenville that his guide to boiling eggs is too long (ten pages) amongst the many other pathetic excuses they give him. Later on, when Jeremy briefly meets Grenville, he notes that he'd have been lost without Gren's guide.
 * Broken Pedestal: Jason Black starts out as the object of Hayleigh's affections. Until she actually meets him.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Grenville, particularly towards the end. Gemma and Jeremy have elements of this too.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Hayleigh gets so depressed in the hospital, she plans to commit suicide. Fortunately, she is not given the opportunity.
 * Dreadful Musician: The bands Big Boys Cry and Gurlz Banned are clearly this. Jeremy figures that the singing on their albums is either the work of other talented singers or talented sound engineers.
 * Fair Cop: DC Redmond.
 * Fat Camp: The Well Farms. The accomodation is designed to be as uncomfortable as physically possible to prevent people from becoming couch potatoes. People attending the camp are woken up ridiculously early in the morning to get a full day's exercise. Food is distributed only when credits are earned (through weight loss). The only films shown are ones that make jokes at the expense of fat people. Needless to say, a lot of people give up after a short time. The circumstances only succeed in aggravating Grenville further to the point of a not-a-rampage.
 * Fridge Logic: The barrier at the gym has a barrier with a coded keypad at the exit but not the entrance. Grenville lampshades the whole thing.
 * Gender Scoff: Gemma refers to all men as bastards in one of her blog entries.
 * Insistent Terminology: Jeremy is a PR man Conceptuologist. Also, Grenville's not-a-rampage.
 * It Got Worse: The prologue implies that the Well Farms would later become mandatory.
 * Jerkass: Jason Black, the lead singer of Big Boys Cry. Hayleigh has a crush on him throughout the book, but gets over it once she actually meets him.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jeremy, particularly once he falls for Gemma.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Gurlz Banned anyone? Also, the Prime Minister is nameless.
 * Averted in the cases of Lucy Pinder, Beyoncé and Chad Michael Murray among others. Though, they are only name dropped.
 * No OSHA Compliance: Inverted. There's an overabundance of health and safety regulations and it leads to many problems at the launch of the Well Farm.
 * Roaring Not-A-Rampage Of Revenge: Grenville's ending. When his credit card malfunctions at the Well Farm and the staff won't serve him food, he destroys half the camp.
 * Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll: The party Jeremy attends after the Well Farm launch. Because he's falling for Gemma, he actually doesn't care much for it, despite being tongued by a member of Gurlz Banned.
 * Shown Their Work: Jemma's opinions on dieting, salt intake and cholesterol levels were actually topics Grant looked into before writing the book. He provides a bibliography at the end.