Life of a Salesman

In a very clever, funny, and heart-warming way, the author tells his life story.

Life, rarely being a bed of roses, writes its own scenarios often very surprisingly. This is how love, adventure, success, grief, and pain mix every day.

Life of a Salesman indeed gives you an idea of what it meant to become a salesperson in the difficult and uncertain reality of the nineties in Eastern post-communist Europe. And how the prettiest girl in the world can steal your heart when you least expect it.

The book highlights the issues facing those who suffer from haemophilia and becomes an especially important voice of patients and their families who are still fighting for justice.

Impossible to put down. Be careful!

A bloody brilliant read! I’m Patryk Miller, and as the son of the author of this book I recognised some of the entertaining anecdotes but also learnt of ones my father had not told me. Many of these stories reach such high levels of hilarity and excitement that a couple of times I had to ask my father ‘’Wow! Did this really happen?!”. Every bit was confirmed. I had always known that my dad had crazy experiences but this book reveals just how deep the water was at times! However, this arsenal of adventurous stories is not without tragedy. It was heartbreaking to read the sad parts but it was very interesting to learn about my late Uncle and how he and the rest of the family dealt with his condition. It was also delightful reading about how my parents met. As this book is also a plethora of my father’s business ventures, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as I have always admired his business skills. On a literacy note, the excellent writing style has the power to convey feelings, characteristics and locations to the reader. To conclude, this book strikes a wonderful balance because where you will find tears, you will find laughter.

A fantastically interesting and insightful book, Life of A Salesman is the tale of a life lived well. I bought the book half expecting another pithy self-help book on how to be successful as a salesman. Within the first few pages it became apparent that this was not the case. The story weaves together the tales of Rupert Harry Miller’s escapades as a salesman and the tragic tale of his haemophiliac brother, Julian, who fell victim to the tainted blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s. The story is thoroughly entertaining although there is certainly an underlying current of sadness. Truly, it is a story of the pathos found in life, mixing sadness with success and the insanity of working in the Eastern bloc following the fall of Communism where vast riches were up for grabs with everyone, including ruthless mobsters vying for it. Life of a Salesman is far more than an entertaining look into a life lived well. The search for justice owed to Julian and those who fell victim to the tainted blood scandal make it much more than that. Ultimately, it is a story of struggle, of success and failure, and of love both for life and for friends, for the Miller family, for his beautiful wife Kasia and his son, Patryk.

A very enjoyable and entertaining read – fast paced and well written. The contaminated blood scandal of the 70’s and 80’s that caused the death of his brother Julian is still having a devastating impact on the lives of the infected victims and their relatives because of the shameful treatment that has been handed out to them by successive governments. No government has accepted full responsibility or provided adequate compensation or even offered an apology, let alone a public inquiry, for the „worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS”. For more information on this tragic scandal and to help gain belated justice for Julian and the thousands of other innocent victims, visit the website of the Contaminated Blood Campaign group (www.cbcuk.org.uk). Sorry for the rant! The book really is an excellent read which I completed in a couple of days which is good going for me. Loved the description of the meat market in Lithuania! Many times, I wondered „why is he living such an existence in Eastern Europe when I am sure with his rather privileged background, education and upbringing he could be living a comfortable life back in the UK.” Well Rupert answers the question at the end of his book. Where next for Rupert Harry Miller I wonder? Into the realms of fiction maybe?

This clever, well-written story is a real page-turner. In his autobiography, Rupert Miller describes the ups and downs of his professional career, his personal life, and his romantic endeavours. Along with the author, the reader travels between England, Wales, Poland, and Lithuania in the early ’90s. Detailed narrative and rich language unveil adversities that are both funny and touching. They present a vast array of people’s characters. They confirm that love and friendship exist beyond geographical, cultural and linguistic boundaries.  The most important element of the story, however, is one single event that has a huge impact on the author’s life. This extremely gripping story seems to be an excuse to tell the real story of pain, loss and helplessness. It shows how one thing in life leads to another, changing the course of events.  It is a definite must-read.