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snoutling's review against another edition
3.0
Sayle is very good at weaving his astute social and political observations into a funny story. This book started very strongly, with amusing and fascinating anecdotes about Liverpool & London in the late 70s and 80s. As Sayle wrote more about his rise into the comedy scene, the book seemed more of a straightforward biography. That's not a bad thing, but the book lost a bit of momentum. 3.5 Stars (And still recommended because there are many laughs to be had.)
lynn_k's review
4.0
Great partial autobiography of a very funny comedian. I didn't realize that this was the second installment in what, most likely, will be a series since this only covered his life between 1977 and 1984. I enjoyed it anyway.
(Edited on December 21, 2018 to add a link to my review of the first part of Alexei's autobiography
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2597261188 ).
(Edited on December 21, 2018 to add a link to my review of the first part of Alexei's autobiography
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2597261188 ).
beardybot's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't know what to expect of this book. On one hand, Alexei Sayle is hilarious. On the other, Stewart Lee proclaims the "laugh out loud" nature of Sayle's second memoirs, and I couldn't divorce the praise from his acidic wit.
It turns out I did laugh out loud a few times. Once on the first page, a couple throughout the book, and then several at once near the end. Oddly, it was the surprisingly mundane that did it for me; not-even-quips about seeing the damage from a small dog, twelve floors up.
I found myself more fascinated than amused for most of my reading. For someone who left university to end up at the job centre every other week, the overemployment I knew existed before Thatcher was a fantasy. Here, Sayle explores it in an almost academic socio-economic context, but with the wit and variety in his anecdotes that grounds it wholly in reality.
That the growth of gross underemploment is wholly prescribed by people who knew only gross overemployment is never touched upon, but hinted at with the manner of the strange old lady on the corner who says "you know that John fellow?" Before pausing, and saying "yeah" with an accompanying gesture that means "John" is definitely either mad, queer, mad or queer.
In short, a great read. The best biography I've read, in fact. It's just a shame I was finished with it the day after I started!
It turns out I did laugh out loud a few times. Once on the first page, a couple throughout the book, and then several at once near the end. Oddly, it was the surprisingly mundane that did it for me; not-even-quips about seeing the damage from a small dog, twelve floors up.
I found myself more fascinated than amused for most of my reading. For someone who left university to end up at the job centre every other week, the overemployment I knew existed before Thatcher was a fantasy. Here, Sayle explores it in an almost academic socio-economic context, but with the wit and variety in his anecdotes that grounds it wholly in reality.
That the growth of gross underemploment is wholly prescribed by people who knew only gross overemployment is never touched upon, but hinted at with the manner of the strange old lady on the corner who says "you know that John fellow?" Before pausing, and saying "yeah" with an accompanying gesture that means "John" is definitely either mad, queer, mad or queer.
In short, a great read. The best biography I've read, in fact. It's just a shame I was finished with it the day after I started!
maree_k's review against another edition
4.0
Made me laugh out loud quite a few times but was a bit rambling in parts. Still, a good insight into his career. A decent read.
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