Scan barcode
ladymirkwood's review against another edition
1.0
Like other reviewers, i wish I had not read this. I loved Lee and Herring growing up, and this was so disappointing. I can't believe how sleazy and sexist he comes across. Still, at least Stewart Lee is still cool.
stefaniejane's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book in one day. There, I said it. It took me all day, but it was a pretty good day.
Rich's writing style is eloquent, intelligent, and shamelessly open. He holds nothing back, he presents himself as an actual whole human, not as someone writing a memoir to make a point (but which, of course, he is). This is a memoir of a damaged and possibly deranged (let's face it) man struggling to make himself feel whole. If there is one thing about Rich that is to be admired, it's that he really wants people to fully understand what he's trying to do, whether it be in this book or his stand-up. He wants to make it clear that he rarely presents a one-sided argument: when he writes, about himself or otherwise, he has thought about it from every angle. And this obsessive nit-picking could go on for pages/minutes, and that is what makes him. He doesn't dumb down his ideas, he doesn't present himself as an easy stereotype of the comedian. He shows himself as flawed and almost simultaneosly hates and praises himself for his behavior. And that's what makes it funny! It's hilarious! Because he can't decide whether he should be indulgent or if he should be the man society says he should be.
So read this if you want to watch a man unravel and try to put himself together again. And fall in love a million times. Even though I'm pretty far from my own mid-life crisis, I still loved this book and thought the deranged self-indulgent struggle was something to which many people can relate. I think if you're not as introspective a person as Rich is, it's easy to read this quickly and see something different than perhaps intended. It's easy to write this off as a book about a guy who had tons of sex and didn't know where is life was going to someone who magically turned it around. But it's more complex and witty and mad than that.
Rich's writing style is eloquent, intelligent, and shamelessly open. He holds nothing back, he presents himself as an actual whole human, not as someone writing a memoir to make a point (but which, of course, he is). This is a memoir of a damaged and possibly deranged (let's face it) man struggling to make himself feel whole. If there is one thing about Rich that is to be admired, it's that he really wants people to fully understand what he's trying to do, whether it be in this book or his stand-up. He wants to make it clear that he rarely presents a one-sided argument: when he writes, about himself or otherwise, he has thought about it from every angle. And this obsessive nit-picking could go on for pages/minutes, and that is what makes him. He doesn't dumb down his ideas, he doesn't present himself as an easy stereotype of the comedian. He shows himself as flawed and almost simultaneosly hates and praises himself for his behavior. And that's what makes it funny! It's hilarious! Because he can't decide whether he should be indulgent or if he should be the man society says he should be.
So read this if you want to watch a man unravel and try to put himself together again. And fall in love a million times. Even though I'm pretty far from my own mid-life crisis, I still loved this book and thought the deranged self-indulgent struggle was something to which many people can relate. I think if you're not as introspective a person as Rich is, it's easy to read this quickly and see something different than perhaps intended. It's easy to write this off as a book about a guy who had tons of sex and didn't know where is life was going to someone who magically turned it around. But it's more complex and witty and mad than that.
andrew_j_r's review against another edition
4.0
This book is really, really funny. It is well written and interesting and puts his previous effort (Talking Cock) to shame. Whilst that was basically a dissertation on the penis (a male version of The Vagina Monologues) this is an actual story. I assume that the majority of the tale he tells is true – I occasionally read his blog and there were certain moments that I knew something about as a result of this. But is is not just a retreading of the blog, it is the tale of a man who is stuck in a lifestyle that he doesn’t seem to be able to shake himself from. There are elements of midlife crisis in this book, but it ends happily – perhaps too happily, so I wonder what happened immediately after the narrative ends. Certainly the dedication at the front seems to suggest that all was not as happy as the end of the book makes it seem, but you do want the guy to be happy at the end so it would be interesting to find out what, if anything, happened next.
Funny and sad at the same time. I really enjoyed it.
Funny and sad at the same time. I really enjoyed it.
wildeaboutoscar's review against another edition
3.0
Herring is a good writer but this comes across as more tragic than funny at times. Still worth a read though as it's an interesting perspective on the midlife crisis.
narflet's review against another edition
2.0
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Richard Herring. Sometimes I find his comedy hilarious and heartwarming (personally, I think What is Love Anyway is the best thing he's done and the Ferrero Rocher routine is just brilliant), othertimes I find it totally unfunny (e.g. the 'begat' nonsense in Christ on a Bike), and sometimes I just find him offensive (but can't list a particular example here). When seeing him in person, and out of the 'character' he wears on stage, I find him to be a decent bloke. However, the crude and lewd that takes over when he's on stage really does get a bit purile for me.
So, I was hoping this book would be a bit more honest and less stage persona, and at times it really was interesting but mostly I just found it a bit 'meh' and have literally forgotten most of the substance as I write this several months later.
It probably doesn't help that I'm best friends with the worlds biggest Herring fan/stalker who thinks everything he does is amazing - it means that I'm automatically prone to being a skeptic, and a much harsher critic. I think that's what stopped me from giving this 3 stars and enjoying it a bit more. Sorry Richard, I don't really think you're that bad at all. At least it's not Stewart Lee.
So, I was hoping this book would be a bit more honest and less stage persona, and at times it really was interesting but mostly I just found it a bit 'meh' and have literally forgotten most of the substance as I write this several months later.
It probably doesn't help that I'm best friends with the worlds biggest Herring fan/stalker who thinks everything he does is amazing - it means that I'm automatically prone to being a skeptic, and a much harsher critic. I think that's what stopped me from giving this 3 stars and enjoying it a bit more. Sorry Richard, I don't really think you're that bad at all. At least it's not Stewart Lee.
More...