Tall Man Talking

Tall Man Talking (2008) by Phil Heinricy — Condition: Good (Crappy Old Books)

Phil Heinricy’s Tall Man Talking (TPC GB and Ireland, 2008, ISBN: 9780956202406) is exactly what the title promises: a tall man, and he’s talking—about life, love, ambition, travel, music, faith, football, or possibly all of the above. It’s a book that doesn’t so much march in a straight line as it ambles, digresses, and riffs—like overhearing the most entertaining fellow at the pub who just happens to also have a knack for storytelling on the page.

Heinricy writes with wit, warmth, and the sort of self-deprecating humour that makes you lean in closer. The chapters have a conversational ease—part memoir, part cultural commentary, part cheerful tall-tale—that lets you feel as if you’re in on the secret of a particularly chatty friend. He’s the “tall man,” yes, but he’s also everyman: turning over big themes and small joys with the same curiosity.

As for this copy: it hails from the deliberately blunt stock of Crappy Old Books and is rated Good. Which means: the cover shows signs of its own tall journeys (a scuff here, a crease there, the literary equivalent of a bent hat brim), the pages may have mellowed into a warm shade of ivory, and the corners might be softened from being stuffed into satchels. But the spine is solid, the text is clean, and every anecdote is intact. No beer stains from pub tables, no biro doodles of lanky stick-men in the margins, no mysterious gaps in the chatter—just a book that’s seen some life and is ready for more.

In short: Tall Man Talking is part banter, part reflection, part storytelling joy. This copy is in Good condition: not flawless, not fussy, just sturdy and companionable—rather like the tall man himself. Another chatty gem from Crappy Old Books, where even good stories stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

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