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T**R
Not perhaps the bundle of laughs you might be expecting but still highly amusing
I've often wondered what makes John Cleese write such brilliant material, especially the outstanding Fawlty Towers, and am fascinated by his particular insights into the human intellect, so this was a must read for me.I can almost understand the negative reviews by some readers as they must have picked up this book expecting to laugh themselves stupid at every turn of the page. Expect that and you'll be sadly disappointed; this is, after all, an authobiography written by a very clever author and there is a lot of serious thought about why people behave the way they do as they appear in the author's life history.Cleese starts at the beginning and either his memory recall is tremendous or he's embellished his story just to make it more real (or is it just real to him). Either way learning about his childhood, education and the chance meetings with people that led to his career as a comedian and comic writer, was an eye-opener for me.Of course you can expect that many of his anecdotes, together with the way he draws some of the more ludicrous characters, are simply amusing in themselves. What is the art of the comic if not to note the humorous side of people's interactions? In this way the book has its lighthearted moments.Other possible reasons for being disappointed is that there isn't a huge amount about Python or Fawlty Towers. Instead there are excerpts from sketches that you may not have even heard of, many which are, of course, funny in a mildly Pythonesque way. So you can see how Cleese's life is building inexorably towards Python and Towers and how the most extraordinary accidents not only lead to them happening but how they almost didn't get shown at all.Look, this book is about John Cleese, first and foremost, and why should he make an apology for that? Like I said, this IS an autobiography, so if you're searching for something more than 'I did this' and 'I said that', or just want a book of jokes and witty asides, don't bother with it. But if, like me, you're wondering what makes Cleese tick and how such an extraordinary comic genius came to fill our screens with the most groundbreaking comedy of its time do, please, read this.
E**G
This is a Dead Autobiography, no it's not, yes it is, no it's not, etc etc. Don't waste your time.
Started out in an interesting manner, engaging the reader with a lively account of his early years, school, family and all that. Informative stories about his acting in school, college and early professional life. I noticed I was over half way through the book at this stage and Monty Python wasn't even a twinkle in anybody's eye. Padding suddenly appears, page after page of sketches from different shows. Now we're up to the late '60's and the book is 80% over. (I'm reading this in 2019 on a Kindle). Then boom, Python appears and disappears in a flash. Connie arrives and they get married. Then::: Nothing. It just ends. No Fawlty Towers, no films, no divorces and marriages.If I had bought this as a book in a book shop I could have rerun the dead parrot sketch, returning to the bookshop, this is a dead autobiography, no it's not, yes it is.A cynical attempt to make a few bob to pay off a few bills. Or maybe he got bored with the whole thing. Or maybe it's a joke on us all. Or whatever. Anyway, I only paid 99p for it so he didn't make much out of me, just wasted a lot of my precious time.
L**A
A gentleman's tale.
I like John Cleese very much. I think he's a cool guy, but he always seems sort of distant. As in, not easy to really get to know. It is more or less the same with this book. After having read the last page, I still don't feel that I know John Cleese any better than when I opened the book on the first page. Instead I feel like someone has just shared tidbits of a life with me. And done so in a warm, heart-touching sort of way, that gives the impression that finishing the book is like getting out of a bubble. Monty Python-fans, and Fawlty Towers-fans may be slightly disappointed here, as it's not much mentioned of any of those eras. I have to admit I waited a bit for that myself, and only the last twenty pages get into these things.Instead we are told about the life of a middle class gentleman, with subtle humor, and sort of a heartwarming way of looking at everyday business. Sometimes I laughed a lot, sometimes I just giggled a bit but mostly this book is not so much about being funny, but being honest and in tune with both his class and his time. I really loved it, and will treasure it - even though it may take me some time before I read it again.
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