So Anyway The Autobiography (Audible Audio Edition) John Cleese Random House Audiobooks Books
Download As PDF : So Anyway The Autobiography (Audible Audio Edition) John Cleese Random House Audiobooks Books
Candid and brilliantly funny, this is the story of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed legend.
En route, John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter's Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic homelife, with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work, as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights of Monty Python.
Punctuated from time to time with John Cleese's thoughts on topics as diverse as the nature of comedy, the relative merits of cricket and waterskiing and the importance of knowing the dates of all the kings and queens of England, this is a masterly performance by a former schoolmaster.
So Anyway The Autobiography (Audible Audio Edition) John Cleese Random House Audiobooks Books
This is not a celebrity book and it is not a funny book primarily. Rather, in my view, this is an account of how an extraordinary artistic talent is forged in an "ordinary" human being as we all start. What works particularly for this book is that, especially if you're a Python fan, you know the person very well from the outside, so when you hear what happened on the inside, and how slowly and painfully that talent has developed, it makes it that much easier to understand and appreciate the process. And you would care for that, I think, if you care about psychology, art, and if you are working to develop artistic talent yourself, regardless of whether it is related to comedy (Cleese's art in question) or not. There is some very good advice to be heard in this book.There is bitterness in it too, as if there is a grumpy old man sharing the same skull with the genius who delighted so many people around the world, and the grumpy man is wondering why he can't experience some of that delight for himself. That man seems to be searching for meaning, something I hope John will find eventually. Though I suspect had he found it earlier in life, he'd have been a happier man and we wouldn't have as much of his hilarious work to enjoy.
But there is also good fun peppered throughout the book -- a few stories you'll remember which I think were alone worth the price and the time. In the end, I was sorry the book ended, but given that John basically just covered the first half of his life, there's hope that one day we'll get part II.
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So Anyway The Autobiography (Audible Audio Edition) John Cleese Random House Audiobooks Books Reviews
I have loved John Cleese since I began watching Monty Python as a teenager. I've always thought British humor is the best Black Adder, Faulty Towers, Benny Hill, etc. I enjoyed the book to a degree. The only disappointment is that there are only a few references to Monty Python. OK, so there may be other books dedicated to MP, maybe even written by JC, but I haven't read them. I was so hoping to get at least a chapter or two on MP, but barely a mention here and there. I think the book went into too much detail about his early life, but that's just me. Maybe others enjoyed the early-years biography, but I kept looking for that Monty Python chapter (Please, Johnny?), but no such luck. Otherwise, an enjoyable read.
I am a huge fan both of Monty Python and John Cleese in particular, so I really looked forward to reading this book. In one sense, it didn't disappoint his anecdotes on how he got started in comedy (in particular the inclusion of some of his early sketches that are hilarious) and how Monty Python got going were definitely worth the read. On the downside, Mr. Cleese cannot seem to moderate his considerable ego, and for me it grated after a while. An example of this early on in the book is when he describes his off-the-cuff theory on childhood experiences that (he believes) intelligent people have specifically, a somewhat nomadic childhood of living in many different places, and having conflict in the household. These are two experiences that Mr. Cleese himself had, and the implication is that he is very intelligent. To cap off the dubious logic (these are my experiences, intelligent people have these experiences in common, and thus I am intelligent), he follows with a gratuitous comment on how it is unlikely that faculty members at universities in Iowa have had these experiences. First off it is unclear if he did a poll of Iowa university professors to support his claim, second of all, the noxious implication is that the faculty members in Iowa as a group are not intelligent or at least not as much so as he. I understand that celebrities do not often come with undersized egos, but Mr. Cleese's is truly majestic. If this had been one of a limited set of examples I would have ignored it and this book would have rated at least four stars. But the book is chock full of them, and it after a while it was difficult for me to get through them without gagging.
In summary, the content relating to Mr. Cleese's experiences as a developing comedian is great; is gratuitous boasts and insults much less so.
I listened to this (mostly in my car) and am so glad I did. It was a privilege to have Mr Cleese himself narrate which made the stories and insights even more significant. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself laughing out loud at times as I was driving to and from work. Other drivers having stopped at the traffic lights must have wondered why I thought the red light was so hilarious. This a must read/listen if you are a Monty Python fan.
This is not a celebrity book and it is not a funny book primarily. Rather, in my view, this is an account of how an extraordinary artistic talent is forged in an "ordinary" human being as we all start. What works particularly for this book is that, especially if you're a Python fan, you know the person very well from the outside, so when you hear what happened on the inside, and how slowly and painfully that talent has developed, it makes it that much easier to understand and appreciate the process. And you would care for that, I think, if you care about psychology, art, and if you are working to develop artistic talent yourself, regardless of whether it is related to comedy (Cleese's art in question) or not. There is some very good advice to be heard in this book.
There is bitterness in it too, as if there is a grumpy old man sharing the same skull with the genius who delighted so many people around the world, and the grumpy man is wondering why he can't experience some of that delight for himself. That man seems to be searching for meaning, something I hope John will find eventually. Though I suspect had he found it earlier in life, he'd have been a happier man and we wouldn't have as much of his hilarious work to enjoy.
But there is also good fun peppered throughout the book -- a few stories you'll remember which I think were alone worth the price and the time. In the end, I was sorry the book ended, but given that John basically just covered the first half of his life, there's hope that one day we'll get part II.
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