How to Get Things Really Flat: Enlightenment for Every Man on Ironing, Vacuuming and Other Household Arts

Perfectly pitched to strike some raw nerves: A witty, often surprising manifesto about how and why men should do housework—and a very useful guide for both the millions of men who shirk household duties and the women who live with them

About the Author :
Andrew Martin trained as an attorney before becoming a journalist and novelist. A regular contributor to the Guardian, he has also written for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Independent and Granta, among many other publications. His seven novels include five titles--beginning with The Necropolis Railway--featuring the young Edwardian detective, Jim Stringer. He has also written short stories and radio plays. He lives with his wife and two children in London.

Review :
"You might not think that a book about cleaning could be funny but this made me laugh out loud. In the office. During a quiet lunch hour." "Obviously my husband will be getting a pristine copy of How to Get Things Really Flat. The author takes his task seriously, but he’s also a funny and fluent writer and this one just might hang around to become an essential reference book as our two young boys grow up." "Martin’s lighthearted but quite handy guide looks at the reasons why men don’t help out around the house as much as they ought to and proposes what can be done about that . . . After reading this offbeat and thoroughly delightful guide to housework, it’s hard to imagine anyone not wanting to give this stuff a try. Martin does what your mother never could: he makes doing chores seem fun, exciting, and rewarding." "I was afraid that this was going to be another one of those tiresome blokes-are-crap-at-housework books, but it’s a strange delight, disarmingly written. Andrew Martin is lyrical about the vacuuming—with a special mention of his favourite attachment, the crevice nozzle—and he gives the low down on feather dusters." "Andrew Martin has launched himself as an unlikely domestic god. His hilarious book is a bloke’s guide to difficult stuff like ironing, dusting, cleaning products and yes, Christmas." "Combining hilarious anecdotes with practical tips from experts about housework for men, it’s debatable whether this is really a gift for him, or you." "Andrew Martin has put together a delightfully amusing tale about the joys and tribulations of doing housework that also serves as a very good primer on how to actually do housework . . . His main target audience is men. But women, I think, will also find Martin’s observations funny and many of his tips helpful . . . And if, after laughing your way through Martin’s text, you're still not into doing housework, he has a tip for that, too: Hire a cleaner."