A review by ryankmotter
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle

3.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a half stars. Silly, Fun, and Scattered. This was another book that I chose for our regional library’s Winter Reading Challenge about Humor Writing, chosen by taking the libraries info folder and dropping my finger at random. I was delighted when this was what turned up as my next book, as Monty Python shaped my childhood especially through the Holy Grail. Eric Idle’s “sortabiography” gives so much fantastic back story to Python, Spamalot, and the thousands of projects Eric supported. Meaningful and bright moments of this biography include his discussion of his friendships with John Cleese, Mike Nichols, George Harrison and Robin Williams. Still, though, this book could’ve benefited from three huge things: an editor (Idle includes multiple stories multiple times), a trimming of name dropping (there are thousands of celebrities mentioned in this book, or so it feels), and a broader sense of direction and purpose behind the writing. Still, if you enjoy Python and you need a good laugh, this will definitely make you smile.