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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
The book was quite enjoyable, more so because I listened to the audiobook read by the author himself.
Mr. Fry seems to have had a pretty eventful life even up to the end of his teenage - perhaps a lot of his behaviour can in retrospect be attributed to his cyclothymia. I actually found this more enjoyable than The Fry Chronicles because it seems so much more filled with raw emotion and bleeding honesty, perhaps because of the subject matter.
A hilarious And poignant read.
Mr. Fry seems to have had a pretty eventful life even up to the end of his teenage - perhaps a lot of his behaviour can in retrospect be attributed to his cyclothymia. I actually found this more enjoyable than The Fry Chronicles because it seems so much more filled with raw emotion and bleeding honesty, perhaps because of the subject matter.
A hilarious And poignant read.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I started the year with Stephen Fry and I nearly ended the year with him too! I picked this up from a second hand bookshop after I enjoyed the Fry Chronicles. I should have flown through this as I really didn’t want to put it down, but Fry’s writing is so beautiful that I wanted to savour the words, and found it very difficult to read quickly! It was however, addictive.
This book tells the story of his life from the age of 0-20. It’s basically his schooldays, and whilst there is quite a lot of what you would expect, public school, boarding, his family life in Norfolk, it is also quite frank and honest. Stephen Fry had a few problems as a teenager, he stole, lied and was expelled. He was a bit of a smartarse. And obviously the subject of his sexuality comes up too. He is frank and honest, and in some places graphic about his sexual encounters, and feelings of being gay. He discusses his family and his emotions towards them, and he does analyse himself throughout, looking back on past memories and how he thinks they have affected him now.
Having read the Fry chronicles at the beginning of the year this filled in a few blanks – it’s very interesting and amusing, as well as, at times, being poignant and heartbreaking. It seemed like a very cathartic book for him to write, and despite his bad ways and misdeeds, I only ended up liking him more.
The anecdotes and stories are genuine, funny and entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Stephen Fry or his writing style – you won’t be disappointed.
This book tells the story of his life from the age of 0-20. It’s basically his schooldays, and whilst there is quite a lot of what you would expect, public school, boarding, his family life in Norfolk, it is also quite frank and honest. Stephen Fry had a few problems as a teenager, he stole, lied and was expelled. He was a bit of a smartarse. And obviously the subject of his sexuality comes up too. He is frank and honest, and in some places graphic about his sexual encounters, and feelings of being gay. He discusses his family and his emotions towards them, and he does analyse himself throughout, looking back on past memories and how he thinks they have affected him now.
Having read the Fry chronicles at the beginning of the year this filled in a few blanks – it’s very interesting and amusing, as well as, at times, being poignant and heartbreaking. It seemed like a very cathartic book for him to write, and despite his bad ways and misdeeds, I only ended up liking him more.
The anecdotes and stories are genuine, funny and entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Stephen Fry or his writing style – you won’t be disappointed.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Look, it's no secret to anyone who knows me in the slightest: I love this man. He is my inspiration and my hero, I love his attitude to life, his sense of humour and unflinching ability to stand up and speak out for what he believes in.
He here tells a brutally honest account of his growing up and how he first came to realise that he was gay. He takes the reader through his days in a boarding school where he struggled to fit in and constantly rebelled against, without knowing quite why. He tells of his troubled mind and how it led him to spend time in prison prior to completing his education at Cambridge, he also speaks of his first love and questions his own thoughts and feelings. Fry attempts to analyse his own behaviour, struggling himself to understand why he grew up the way he did when he was treated no differently to his brother.
It is honest, it is funny, poignant and sometimes sad. It is nearly always curious and often confused. But it is never apologetic. Good for you, Stephen.
He here tells a brutally honest account of his growing up and how he first came to realise that he was gay. He takes the reader through his days in a boarding school where he struggled to fit in and constantly rebelled against, without knowing quite why. He tells of his troubled mind and how it led him to spend time in prison prior to completing his education at Cambridge, he also speaks of his first love and questions his own thoughts and feelings. Fry attempts to analyse his own behaviour, struggling himself to understand why he grew up the way he did when he was treated no differently to his brother.
It is honest, it is funny, poignant and sometimes sad. It is nearly always curious and often confused. But it is never apologetic. Good for you, Stephen.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Very possibly one of the most entertaining, honest and self-deprecating autobiographies I have ever read. Fry writes in a way that pulls you in. You can help but be as thrilled as he is when he discovered sex and his first love. You can help but feel your heartache when he talks about his self-destructive years.
It is one engrossing read peppered with quotes and quotable bits.
I would highly recommend this if you are a fan of this incredible man.
It is one engrossing read peppered with quotes and quotable bits.
I would highly recommend this if you are a fan of this incredible man.
So I really liked this book.
Um, I think it's definitely worth reading especially if you're a fan of Stephen Fry.
A few problematic things I'd like to flag, just off the top of my head because I don't have the book anymore (damn library always wanting its books back), but anyway.
So the main thing I can think of (and will probably add more later)is the way he talks about accessibility to queer literature.
I don't know the exact line, but he says something like nowadays young queers have all sorts of gay literature to understand what they are/can be/what there is out there that doesn't hate them, whereas young Stephen Fry only had codified queer literature in which one can glean a little from the hints/by looking for it in the classics etc.
While it is true that there is a lot more queer (read accessible and 'out') literature out there, I can't help but feel he's taking a very white middle class cis-male point of view. I mean what do queers in countries which are not first world western countries care about Ellen DeGenres? So yeah, I just wanted to flag that as problematic and will probs have more later when my brain ain't all blah.
Also, omg I love it when gay cis-men are all like, "Women aren't gross I just don't find them sexually attractive" that is freaking awesome (and I hate that that is a thing which stands out as different).
Definitely worth a read.
Um, I think it's definitely worth reading especially if you're a fan of Stephen Fry.
A few problematic things I'd like to flag, just off the top of my head because I don't have the book anymore (damn library always wanting its books back), but anyway.
So the main thing I can think of (and will probably add more later)is the way he talks about accessibility to queer literature.
I don't know the exact line, but he says something like nowadays young queers have all sorts of gay literature to understand what they are/can be/what there is out there that doesn't hate them, whereas young Stephen Fry only had codified queer literature in which one can glean a little from the hints/by looking for it in the classics etc.
While it is true that there is a lot more queer (read accessible and 'out') literature out there, I can't help but feel he's taking a very white middle class cis-male point of view. I mean what do queers in countries which are not first world western countries care about Ellen DeGenres? So yeah, I just wanted to flag that as problematic and will probs have more later when my brain ain't all blah.
Also, omg I love it when gay cis-men are all like, "Women aren't gross I just don't find them sexually attractive" that is freaking awesome (and I hate that that is a thing which stands out as different).
Definitely worth a read.
I am not English
I am not Jewish
I am not Gay
I am not Male
I did not go through an English public school system or prison.
I understood and related to every single beautiful syllable of this beautiful, beautiful memoir.
Stephen Fry's first autobiography was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. He is a true master of words. This 'celebrity tell all' is heavy and pungent with words. Nice sweaty words filled with flavour and colour.
I loved the large rants, tangents, separated by these wonderful skits, anecdotes from his life.
It is everything a good/great memoir should be, open, indulgent, philosophical, passionate, truthful, extravagant, confessional, with a hint of inaccuracy that only personal memory can provide.
This is a treasure of a book.
I am not Jewish
I am not Gay
I am not Male
I did not go through an English public school system or prison.
I understood and related to every single beautiful syllable of this beautiful, beautiful memoir.
Stephen Fry's first autobiography was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. He is a true master of words. This 'celebrity tell all' is heavy and pungent with words. Nice sweaty words filled with flavour and colour.
I loved the large rants, tangents, separated by these wonderful skits, anecdotes from his life.
It is everything a good/great memoir should be, open, indulgent, philosophical, passionate, truthful, extravagant, confessional, with a hint of inaccuracy that only personal memory can provide.
This is a treasure of a book.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced