The Lockdown Diary of Tom Cooper - Review and Q&A

For loveable loser Tom, Lockdown is like being in a situation comedy with no script, and his attempts to ad-lib his way through it are hilarious. Trapped in a torture chamber of home-schooling, overwhelmed by his girlfriend’s knack for home-made soft porn, he rants about, amongst other things, online quizzes, schools, exercise gurus, Zoom and, notably, senior citizens. Elderly relatives, his own or other people’s, can really wind Tom up. However, when his cage is not being rattled, he is philosophical. At one point, he reflects on the nature of parenthood down the generations. ‘No parents, no children – just caretakers for….love….’

The Lockdown Diary of Tom Cooper will make a perfect Christmas gift for the parents of young families. Don’t, under any circumstances, give it to your child’s teacher, who is likely to sue, and please be aware that it may throw anyone over sixty into an existential crisis. Nevertheless, I was so blown away by Spencer Brown’s creativity, under challenging circumstances, that I couldn’t wait to interview him. Thank you for your full and enlightening answers, Spencer!

Would you prefer The Lockdown Diaries of Tom Cooper to be seen as a generational comedy, or a plague diary?

If I had to plump for one of those, definitely the first. The term ‘plague diary’ sounds so depressing, whereas the book’s meant to be really fun. There’s obviously a lot in the book that’s quite emotional too, but the aim was to satirise the way we were reacting to events rather than just document the events themselves. The first lockdown was obviously a painful time for a lot of people, losing loved ones and feeling the horrors of loneliness and isolation, but if this book allows us to look back and remember that time in the future, I hope it will help us to laugh at the silly ways we acted amidst the difficulties and remember that aspect of things as well. I’m pretty sure the difficulties will stick with us on their own…

How did your family feel about you writing a book during Lockdown?

My family were incredibly supportive – well, my wife; the kids didn’t have a choice – we tell them what to do. I think she could see writing the book was keeping me sane, and we tag-teamed work to give us both an oasis of calm amidst the imprisonment. I actually found writing a funny book during the lockdown itself really therapeutic. Turning events that were happening around me into comedy was really transformative and made me see what we were going through with new eyes. My hope is that the book will give readers the same experience, and bring a bit of lightness and fun into what has clearly been one of the worst years most of us can remember. Now, in Lockdown 2, looking back at the first lockdown through the book, it almost makes it seem like a pretty good time, whereas in reality it was tough for everyone. There’s that phrase ‘tragedy plus time equals comedy’. I think comedians just have this strange quality where we need a little less time.

You completed the book in a very short space of time. What’s your secret?

For some reason I’ve got a really good work ethic. I’m a weird mix of left and right brain thinking, where I constantly feel the need to create stuff, while at the same time I’m really conscientious. Also, having spent years doing stand-up, I’ve really trained my mind to generate jokes, and I was always head writer on the TV shows I presented, so I’m used to creating a lot of material in a short space of time. All of those skills have been really useful in writing comedy novels, as the bits that most people probably struggle with seem like second nature to me now. I also put all my other writing aside to just focus on this book for a few months (the novel I took a break from still isn’t finished!). I think at the start of the lockdown all of us were finding it difficult to think about anything else. The book gave me a chance to focus that into something positive and uplifting that hopefully everyone else will enjoy.

If you were planning an online quiz, what three questions would you most like to include?

I’m rubbish at quizzes, as I have no general knowledge. I’d have to push for the type of things that might come up in the specialist subject rounds in Mastermind. Anything on modern boardgames, sourdough making and jazz piano theory would work. I don’t really want to set questions I wouldn’t be able to answer. Maybe I’d just make up three about the names of European capitals so everyone could feel good about themselves.

£7.99