The protagonist of the novel is the feckless Dan Milligan, a man so lazy that the author is obliged to take direct action to prevent him spending the entire novel lounging about at home; thus alerted to his status as a fictional character, Dan frequently breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to the writer about the trouble he has been made to endure.

An abridged audiobook version, read by the author, was released on LP and cassette.

It stars Sean Hughes as the renamed "Dan Madigan" and Richard Attenborough (in his final film role) as the narrator (after Spike Milligan's poor health prevented him from taking the part),[1] along with British, Irish and American character actors including Elliott Gould, Griff Rhys Jones, Milo O'Shea, David Kelly, Marc Sinden, Daragh O'Malley, Nickolas Grace and Freddie Jones.

The film was cast by Jo Gilbert and shot in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

[3] An adaptation by Ian Billings, narrated by Barry Cryer and starring Ed Byrne as Dan Milligan and Pauline McLynn was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2019.