Pierre Novellie – Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? A Comedian’s Guide to Autism

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‘Like a Martian’s guide to living on Earth. Funny, enlightening and gobsmacking’ – Frank Skinner

 Why were the other kids at school obsessed with Britney Spears instead of The Goon Show? Why don’t people ever say what they mean? And… why is everyone chewing so loudly? Comedian Pierre Novellie was on stage when a heckler suggested he was autistic. Usually, this disruption would be water off a duck’s back but two things made this heckler different: first, he was himself autistic. Second, he turned out to be absolutely right.

This random encounter led to a diagnosis of autism at the age of 31 that unravelled his world, explained his struggles and answered questions that had bothered him for his entire life. At once a hilarious and insightful journey through autism and neurodivergence, an entertaining explainer for the uninitiated and observational comedy for the neurodiverse, this is the perfect read for anyone who has ever asked themselves: why can’t I just enjoy things?

Pierre Novellie is a stand-up comedian, writer, radio host and podcaster. His new Radio 4 show – Why in the name of Pierre Novellie – is currently airing this January, and he is co-host on both The Frank Skinner Show (Absolute Radio) and the hit Budpod podcast (with Phil Wang). His TV appearances include World’s Most Dangerous Roads (Dave), The Mash Report (BBC2), and Stand Up Central (Comedy Central). On the radio, Pierre has performed on The Now Show (Radio 4) and hosted the BBC Sounds podcast series Obsessed With… SAS: Rogue Heroes. As a writer, Pierre was one of the regular writers on the rebooted Spitting Image (ITV/Britbox) and has also written on shows including Mock the Week (BBC2), The News Quiz (Radio 4) and The Mash Report (BBC2). Pierre has performed stand-up around the world, including sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, residencies in Soho and nationwide tours.