No Shame: a queer life in suburbia Paperback – April 26, 2022

This is a funny book! I really enjoyed it. Tom Allen is a very funny guy. I would recommend this book.

Tom Allen is one of my favorite comedians/presenters. My husband and I really enjoyed listening to Tom's story. There were points where we laughed to tears, but there was a lot that was touching and even deeply moving. I really, really enjoyed it!

I loved this book. It was funny, and sweet and at times I wanted to cry for Tom. However it was well written and as charming as Tom. It makes me want to meet him.

Loved this, I think listening on audible with Tom telling his own story made it so much better! Very entertaining!

I have been waiting for this and wasn't disappointed. Upset in places, especially the angst you felt in your years at Coopers.I'm glad it is out of our catchment area now as my youngest grandson is due to start secondary school next year. My daughters both went to Coopers and as Toad in your first Cabaret, you were completely memorable. By the way, you never gave me back my green socks that my daughter loaned you! Please keep on entertaining us in your inimitable way.

I love Tom Allen! I saw his stand up show on TV, and of course his regular appearances on Bake Off offshoots, plus his panel show guest appearances; always hilarious, with his dry acerbic wit and his put-downs.So I couldn't wait to get my mitts on "No Shame". To begin with, it was amusing, at times hilarious... certainly through his earlier years it was fairly consistently witty. However, as it reached his adult years, I'm afraid it began to seem self-indulgent, monotonous, even boring.Also, (sorry Tom, this may seem really nit-picking) but his proif-readers and editors should've done a much better job at pulling up the glaring grammatical errors! For somebody who prides himself on his meticulousness, the repeated split infinitives and use of "sat" when it should have been "sitting" (although unfortunately this does seem to have drip fed itself into common parlance!) really grated.I was also disappointed that there were no photographs of Tom at any stage in his life. It would have been fun to see a few shots of him in his Noel Coward years, these surely must exist in his family archive?On the plus side, there were a few laugh-out-loud anecdotes, and of course in my head I was reading it in Tom's wonderfully snooty voice, which always brings a smile. In many ways he slightly reminded me of Kenneth Williams, which I think would be a high compliment indeed!I suppose I didn't know what I was expecting, and I feel as though Tom didn't either. Is this a memoir? Or is it a self-help book? Or simply a work of self indulgence?Sorry Tom, not your finest hour ☹

Didn't expect this. It's probably as honest as any autobiography can be. Follows TA's life as a child/teenager/adult who is a gay/confused/oddity born into a genuinely *skilled working class* South London home with supportive and loving parents, and how he became the comedic success he is today. Most of the book is based on the difficulty of dealing with all of this, and rapidly resolves with self-acceptance and success. He is clearly a very strong character whose experiences have left him with much sympathy for others who are struggling. Very little name dropping, which I appreciate.

Tom Allen is one of those comedians who seem to suddenly appear from nowhere and then they are everywhere. I first came across him (ooh er missus etc) on Mock the Week. A small immaculately dressed urbane man, he initially seemed a little out of place amongst the rest of the MtW pack, but then he delivered some first-rate stand-up, and lovely one liners and I knew this was a guy I was going to like.His autobiography, as is the way with these things, really takes you in to the heart of the man himself, and what a fascinating journey he has had from being a shy Bromley schoolboy to becoming the overnight sensation he has turned in to. The book is written in a wonderfully self-deprecating manner and tells the reader a lot about Tom’s inner thoughts and workings. For me, this was the really compelling part as so much of his internal struggles with confidence and sense of being ‘other’ really resonated with me and my own inner thoughts. There are tales of unrequited love – why are straight men so dammed attractive to us gayers? Tom’s schooldays were not the best, but rather than let the recollection of them get him down, they seem to make him stronger – even if he himself doesn’t realise it. And I love Tom’s parents, I hope they are as proud as punch of their fantastic son.Tom’s story could have been pretty depressing but, any time the mood starts getting too heavy, he throws a wonderful humorous aside, anecdote or observation into the chapter and you go from feeling sad – even tearful at times – to giggling away at something Tom has said.The book itself feels authentic – no ghost writer here – and you could imagine having a chat with Tom about his life and him sounding exactly as he does in the book. Thoroughly enjoyable and a real page turner, well finger swiper on my kindle, I would happily recommend “No Shame” to anyone who fancies something great to read.

"No Shame" offers a poignant yet often funny account of Tom's life journey, from his childhood feelings of being different to his rise to fame as a stand-up comedian and television personality. His childhood, adolescence and coming out are particularly well recounted and are described in detail, but the ending, in contrast seems a little rushed and abrupt, which is a pity. The language and phraseology are consistent with his public persona, so if you like Tom Allen in performance, I cannot see how you could fail to like the book - you can hear his voice on your head throughout. Thank you, Tom, for sharing your story.Congratulations, too, to the designer of the striking cover; such an eye-catcher really helps the book to stand out on the bookshop shelves or in lists of on-line suggestions.