Scan barcode
jdwek's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Love his voice, love his style. Too much Jimmy for me though.
I've had this in my Audible queue for ages, and finally got around to listening this week. I'm not a huge reader of biographies, but Louis is one of those 'characters' that can't help but excite interest - his persona, his reporting style, his choice of subject, and he's quite an enigma himself.
So his very honest and open look at his own life made this fly by. From early days as the kid you might expect, through to the adolescent you might not, I really liked seeing how Louis got his breaks, how he managed to forge a career doing what he does, and was impressed with the path he took, the work he put in to earning his chances in the media.
It was fun too to see behind the scenes of some remembered television, Weird Weekends were on in my own adolescence, and seeing how hard it was to get the concept right and to the screen was rather fascinating.
I would say that for my part, there was too much Jimmy Savile. He's not a figure of much interest for me, and Louis not only devotes several chapters to him, but adds an extra in the Audible epilogue as well. It was a little overkill. Maybe others will be wanting to hear about this particular subject, but I was hoping for the Westborough Baptist Church in the same kind of detail, that for me is much more Louis, much more a subculture and niche subject I'd want Louis's honest opinions on.
Louis narrates marvellously, his acerbic wit and open approach to reporting in evidence even when discussing his own failed marriage and the problems experienced as constantly travelling parent in his second. His voice was a pleasure to listen to.
A great subject for a 'celebrity' autobiography, but be warned if you don't want a lot of Savile in your Theroux that this is peppered with him.
I've had this in my Audible queue for ages, and finally got around to listening this week. I'm not a huge reader of biographies, but Louis is one of those 'characters' that can't help but excite interest - his persona, his reporting style, his choice of subject, and he's quite an enigma himself.
So his very honest and open look at his own life made this fly by. From early days as the kid you might expect, through to the adolescent you might not, I really liked seeing how Louis got his breaks, how he managed to forge a career doing what he does, and was impressed with the path he took, the work he put in to earning his chances in the media.
It was fun too to see behind the scenes of some remembered television, Weird Weekends were on in my own adolescence, and seeing how hard it was to get the concept right and to the screen was rather fascinating.
I would say that for my part, there was too much Jimmy Savile. He's not a figure of much interest for me, and Louis not only devotes several chapters to him, but adds an extra in the Audible epilogue as well. It was a little overkill. Maybe others will be wanting to hear about this particular subject, but I was hoping for the Westborough Baptist Church in the same kind of detail, that for me is much more Louis, much more a subculture and niche subject I'd want Louis's honest opinions on.
Louis narrates marvellously, his acerbic wit and open approach to reporting in evidence even when discussing his own failed marriage and the problems experienced as constantly travelling parent in his second. His voice was a pleasure to listen to.
A great subject for a 'celebrity' autobiography, but be warned if you don't want a lot of Savile in your Theroux that this is peppered with him.
lucie_norel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
bethelslibrary's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
treborc29's review against another edition
5.0
A great autobiography and I recommend buying it in audiobook form, if only for the funny voices Theroux does for all the different characters he talks about.
There are at least three chapters based around Jimmy Savile and Theroux's relationship with him and it comes quite close to becoming a book about their relationship, rather than Theroux's career. Fortunately, though, there's more than enough other material in the book to keep it on track.
He's very open and honest about his past mistakes in his previous and current marriages, and how he felt about the miscarriages that he and his wife went through. These are the most personal bits of the book and you see him at his most raw, before returning to the subject of whichever TV shows he was making next (which seems to resemble his attitude in real life, at that time).
Also, it's easy to view Theroux as an overnight sensation who just popped up out of nowhere but his climb up the ladder, through working for small magazines and being taken under Michael Moore's wing, is actually very admirable and shows how he did, in fact, work his backside off to get where he is today and how he very much earned his spot as one of the top documentary makers of the 21st Century.
There are at least three chapters based around Jimmy Savile and Theroux's relationship with him and it comes quite close to becoming a book about their relationship, rather than Theroux's career. Fortunately, though, there's more than enough other material in the book to keep it on track.
He's very open and honest about his past mistakes in his previous and current marriages, and how he felt about the miscarriages that he and his wife went through. These are the most personal bits of the book and you see him at his most raw, before returning to the subject of whichever TV shows he was making next (which seems to resemble his attitude in real life, at that time).
Also, it's easy to view Theroux as an overnight sensation who just popped up out of nowhere but his climb up the ladder, through working for small magazines and being taken under Michael Moore's wing, is actually very admirable and shows how he did, in fact, work his backside off to get where he is today and how he very much earned his spot as one of the top documentary makers of the 21st Century.
georgialeanne's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
megantee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0