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lottiemorton's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
I know Pete hates it but I enjoyed a lot
jamesdanielhorn's review
3.0
This is a perfectly serviceable “autobiography” and I blasted right through it, as it reads like someone just telling you the story of their life (which is basically how it was dictated/written.) For fans, it’s certainly worth a read, particularly for anecdotes about the making of his albums, his memories of concerts (many of which can be found online) and how particular songs were written. He does obviously talk extensively about his addiction and he dips into some of the mayhem his life has been, but the sugar coating he puts on much of his 20+ years of extreme drug use, makes taking his words at face value (forgive me here) a tough pill to swallow.
alice_with_the_books's review
4.0
I was so excited to discover that Peter had finally written an autobiography, disappointed that I didn't manage to score a signed copy (although I have plenty of other signed bits), and further disappointed that it's ghost written. But then it's such a Peter thing to do, telling everyone the book was written by someone else, based on his words, but not what he was expecting and cut up by his misses and others who wanted certain stories to stay quiet, just before it was released.
A Likely Lad is a good read, full of good stories. Irritatingly, Peter reminded me of Skimpole in some place, talking about how he is 'a perfect child' when it comes to finance and owing money... but I believe him. A lot of his tales are humourous, a few sad, nostalgic. He comes across as very honest and matter of fact when it comes to drug use, and talks candidly about some of the murkier accusations attached to that side of his life. I love the constant references to British film and TV, books and poetry, especially as someone who also lives an imaginary existence. At the end of the day though, you're not going to get a thorough, non-biased review out of me because I love Peter, and The Libertines, and Babyshambles. I am a little bit disappointed that he's not a fan of Byron though.
A Likely Lad is a good read, full of good stories. Irritatingly, Peter reminded me of Skimpole in some place, talking about how he is 'a perfect child' when it comes to finance and owing money... but I believe him. A lot of his tales are humourous, a few sad, nostalgic. He comes across as very honest and matter of fact when it comes to drug use, and talks candidly about some of the murkier accusations attached to that side of his life. I love the constant references to British film and TV, books and poetry, especially as someone who also lives an imaginary existence. At the end of the day though, you're not going to get a thorough, non-biased review out of me because I love Peter, and The Libertines, and Babyshambles. I am a little bit disappointed that he's not a fan of Byron though.
moonlunatik's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
zetafiction's review
informative
2.5
This book is interesting because Peter Doherty is an interesting person who does interesting things. It is not written in an interesting way-- reads more as a transcription of a longform interview with his ghostwriter. I'd love to read a proper Doherty book one day but this ain't it.