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jonnyfox's review against another edition
5.0
Just the best book I've ever read. Couldn't put it down, great charity shop find
johnnyideaseed's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
He wants to be Oscar Wilde, but he just comes across as unlikably glib. Also pretty racist. I liked him better before I read this. I probably wouldn’t have stuck out the 192 pages but it’s for my book club.
isadorareads's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
The attitudes of George Sanders to women and minorities might be offensive to some. This was written in the 1960's when attitudes were different.
hattiereadssomanybooks_x's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
ssejig's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
4.0
I cannot remember why I added this book to my TBR but I do regret that it took me so long to read it. Sanders (or perhaps his ghost writer) is incredibly witty with a very dry sense of humor. If every story in this book is true, he lived an amazing life. If only half of the stories in this book are true, Sanders still lived an amazing life.
His life began in Russia where his family wasn't wealthy but they were well-off. At least, they were until they were drummed out of the country. From there, he lived in England and then traveled many places, never holding down a job but having experiences that very few others in life would be able to have. He fell into acting and says that it was mostly because it allowed him to remain lazy.
His views on women were of the time and probably exaggerated for the book but... eh.
I will say that the narrator added to the enjoyability.
His life began in Russia where his family wasn't wealthy but they were well-off. At least, they were until they were drummed out of the country. From there, he lived in England and then traveled many places, never holding down a job but having experiences that very few others in life would be able to have. He fell into acting and says that it was mostly because it allowed him to remain lazy.
His views on women were of the time and probably exaggerated for the book but... eh.
I will say that the narrator added to the enjoyability.
jlmb's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat similar to David Niven's memoirs(which are excellent) but with an undercurrent of meanness that Niven's didn't have. Sanders is like that casual friend of yours who is fabulously bitchy and fun to listen to, as long as his focus is not on you. You know though, that he talks behind your back and so you can never let yourself get to close to him because you know you will get burnt.
Sanders has such a distinctive, wonderful voice that while I was reading this, I completely heard his voice in my head as I was reading. Too bad he died before audiobooks were a thing because listening to him reading this out loud would have been amazing.
He gives very little detail about his personal life. It's almost more like a collection of humorous essays rather than a traditional memoir. He barely talks about All About Eve. He doesn't even mention working on Hitchcock's Rebecca. He has a whole chapter about some terrible Roberto Rossellini film he made in Italy which, while funny & bitchy, is not a movie I wanted him to be dwelling upon.
There are several very dated, wincingly awful comments he makes in the book. Made me step back and remember "Oh, right, he was born in 1906." He has a chapter about eating dinner at a restaurant in Japan in the 1950's that I imagine was a life riot if you were reading it in 1960 but reading it in 2020 made me grimace. Raw fish - ewwww! Taking your shoes off - gross!! A bowl of lima beans (I assume he meant edamame) - yucky!!! This sake tastes weird!!! The waitresses look so funny in their kimonos!!! Bowing is dumb!!! American eating habits & perceptions of other cultures have certainly changed in the last 60 years.
Throughout the book there is casual misogyny - he is not someone you would want to sleep with or date or marry. At one point he says he was joking in the famous interview he gave about women are no better than dogs etc. His protestations are negated by the numerous negative comments about women he has that are all over the book.
Finally, towards the end of the book, when describing something - I've already forgotten what, something minor - he uses the terms "like a n**ger in a woodpile". Yikes! A reminder of the off-hand casual racism that permeated life for many years. I'm sure that there are still plenty of people who say things like that, but at least now they realize they will get blowback for it and so try to hide their feelings & only say it around likeminded people. Sixty years ago it was totally ok to say that - it wouldn't cross your mind that you were being a jerk. So in a weird way it made me feel grateful that at least we have developed and matured enough for those 'common' phrases to no longer be common.
While I'm glad I read this memoir, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a big fan of old Hollywood.
Sanders has such a distinctive, wonderful voice that while I was reading this, I completely heard his voice in my head as I was reading. Too bad he died before audiobooks were a thing because listening to him reading this out loud would have been amazing.
He gives very little detail about his personal life. It's almost more like a collection of humorous essays rather than a traditional memoir. He barely talks about All About Eve. He doesn't even mention working on Hitchcock's Rebecca. He has a whole chapter about some terrible Roberto Rossellini film he made in Italy which, while funny & bitchy, is not a movie I wanted him to be dwelling upon.
There are several very dated, wincingly awful comments he makes in the book. Made me step back and remember "Oh, right, he was born in 1906." He has a chapter about eating dinner at a restaurant in Japan in the 1950's that I imagine was a life riot if you were reading it in 1960 but reading it in 2020 made me grimace. Raw fish - ewwww! Taking your shoes off - gross!! A bowl of lima beans (I assume he meant edamame) - yucky!!! This sake tastes weird!!! The waitresses look so funny in their kimonos!!! Bowing is dumb!!! American eating habits & perceptions of other cultures have certainly changed in the last 60 years.
Throughout the book there is casual misogyny - he is not someone you would want to sleep with or date or marry. At one point he says he was joking in the famous interview he gave about women are no better than dogs etc. His protestations are negated by the numerous negative comments about women he has that are all over the book.
Finally, towards the end of the book, when describing something - I've already forgotten what, something minor - he uses the terms "like a n**ger in a woodpile". Yikes! A reminder of the off-hand casual racism that permeated life for many years. I'm sure that there are still plenty of people who say things like that, but at least now they realize they will get blowback for it and so try to hide their feelings & only say it around likeminded people. Sixty years ago it was totally ok to say that - it wouldn't cross your mind that you were being a jerk. So in a weird way it made me feel grateful that at least we have developed and matured enough for those 'common' phrases to no longer be common.
While I'm glad I read this memoir, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a big fan of old Hollywood.