From Ceylon to suburbia; a memoir of food, family and finding yourself

Picklehead

A moving and mouth-watering memoir of growing up as part of an immigrant family, surrounded by exotic food

Candappa's about quality rather than quantity. If you've ever been part of a family or loved eating food then Picklehead is a book for you

His story, sharply funny, is about the positive, zestful contribution made by immigrants to British life; about their turbo-charged will to succeed; about exotic food in a culinary desert

A vibrant taste of what life was like growing up in 70s suburbia ... A heart-warming memoir

Wholesome and sustaining ... As thoughtful as it is amusing

An excellent read ... Colourful, often moving journey

Packed with period details, humorous reflections and some wonderfully bizarre recipes

Poignant ... an exotic meditation on the importance of food

Rohan lives with his wife and two children in North London. After a career in advertising he is now a full-time writer.

Rohan Candappa, author of bestselling humour books such as the Little Book of Stress and The Curious Incident of the Weapons of Mass Destruction, is the son of a Sri Lankan father and Burmese mother. He grew up small and round in South London, riding his chopper bike and supporting Leeds United. But every day his mother would conjur delicious meals out of thin air. His father cooked too, with fiery flavourings, black curries and green coriander chutneys. Their home became the focus for family gatherings and feasts of such delicacy and exoticism that you'd never have known Norwood lay outside the window. 
 
Yet somewhere in his twenties Rohan forgot his culinary heritage and it wasn't until he was bringing up his own young family that he began to think more about his identity as a second generation immigrant and the binding, identifying power of the family meal caught his imagination. 
 
And so he began this beautifully written, funny, poignant memoir of his heritage and his home. Of curry leaves and curried chips. Hot chillis and hot dogs. Pataks and Heinz. About the past and the present - and the place where time should cease to matter... the family kitchen.

University Challenged

Bestselling author of the Little Book of Stress and Growing Old Disgracefully brings us the ultimate gift for students - an anarchic guide to university

Rohan Candappa lives in London wife his wife and two children. After working an advertising for many years he thought he might write a little book for fun. He did, the Little Book of Stress, and it has now sold over 320,000 copies. He doesn't work in advertising anymore.

Going to college or university can be a daunting experience. There are so many new experiences to try, so many new responsibilities to handle. What you really need is a best friend who'll show you the ropes, hold your hand and make sure you get to your lectures on time...This book, unfortunately, isn't that friend. 
 
This book, even more unfortunately, is more akin to the kind of mate who doesn't get up till half past two, nicks your food from the fridge and when you're both well wasted at some awful party you've gate crashed convinces you that Malibu, cider and Worcestershire sauce is a real cocktail. Frankly, if you have even the slightest ambition to emerge from your time in 'higher' education with any kind of qualification whatsoever, it's best that you stop reading now. 
 
If however, you insist on perusing the wisdom contained within this thoroughly disreputable tome, then please note that the author accepts no responsibility for the fact that you'll get a crap qualification, your parents will disown you and your subsequent career will go nowhere. But all that lies way off in the future. So let's talk about Freshers Week...'

How to upset and perplex your children with increasingly erratic and unreasonable behaviour

Growing Old Disgracefully

Extremely funny new title from bestselling humorist Rohan Candappa, for grown-up children and dotty parents alike

Rohan Candappa lives in North London with his family, including two small children. He promises them daily that he won't end up like his parents.

Does your mother think it's really charming to talk to every rose bush on the street? Has your father taken up obsessive fundraising for a donkey sanctuary on retirement? Does he collect elastic bands because 'you never know when you'll need one'? Do your parents make jokes about sheltered housing? Have they guessed that you've already sent off for the brochures? Do they seem to be having too much fun for a couple with two fake hips, a pacemaker and three steel pins between them? Then you need Rohan Candappa. 
 
The man who bought you The Little Book of Stress, The Little Book of Wrong Shui and The Autobiography of a One Year Old has hit the nail on the head once more. Full of wit and wisdom, Rohan will give you a much needed laugh in the face of your parents' increasingly barmy behaviour. Just one thing, you'll probably find your parents have bought it too. And they'll probably think its really funny.

Autobiography Of A One Year Old

A wickedly funny look at life through the eyes of a one year old

An adorable paperback edition of a popular hardback by bestselling humorist Rohan Candappa. 
 
It's an extraordinary world out there and The One Year Old is here to share his revelatory journey through babyhood. From full and frank explanations as to why he sometime blows snot bubbles through his nose (because he can) to the mystery of the stalker (if someone had just explained to him about mirrors). From the frustrating stupidity of his parents (Hairy and Smooth) to delights of running around naked on the kitchen table, it's a truly enlightening and delightfully funny read. To every parent who's ever wearily wiped food from the floor and said 'Is this your idea of a game?' - beware. The One Year Old is about to reveal just how much he's been playing with you.

Rohan Candappa

The perfect Christmas present for Gordon Brown... Shrewd.'

An extremely funny, tongue-in-cheek look at characteristics of the British.'

The 101 Essential Questions of Britishness Answered - From How to Keep a Stiff Upper Lip to Who Ate All the Pies

What exactly does it mean to be British? Forget the official Citizenship Test, what do newcomers really need to understand to be part of this Great Nation? Does it involve wearing plastic Union Jack bowler hats? Perhaps sinking a tankard of ale? In these confused multicultural times it's difficult to know... 
 
Well, fear not, because Rules Britannia is here to answer the 101 Essential Questions of Britishness - from the straightforward ('What is the point of the Boat Race?') to the historical ('Why couldn't the Daleks conquer the universe?'); the metaphysical ('Who is the "one" who has been barred from "All Bar One"?') to the totally unfathomable ('Elizabeth Hurley. Explain.'). Within the wisdom-packed pages of this seminal tome you'll also discover how Tim Henman can be both a hero and a villain, why a stiff upper-lip is treated as a source of pride rather than a facial condition, and why custard and gravy - the two key lubricants of a frankly limited cuisine - are locked in a yin-and-yang like struggle for dominance which neither can ever win. 
 
Written with an absurd, off-beat sense of humour, bestselling author Rohan Candappa both sends up and celebrates our Sceptered Isle. And, after all, what could be more British than an absurd, off-beat sense of humour?

Rohan Candappa

Praise for Rules Britannia

The perfect Christmas present for Gordon Brown... Shrewd.'

An extremely funny, tongue-in-cheek look at characteristics of the British.'

Books by Rohan Candappa

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter