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A review by jodar
Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.25
A gem I wasn’t expecting. I am surprised at how engaging, emotionally charged and in places how raw the memoir is. There are numerous laugh-out-loud anecdotes as well.
I had a book gift card burning a hole in my wallet, but the bookshop I had to use it at stocks few of the books I’d be interested in reading in hard copy. I bought this simply because it was in the price range and Jean-Luc Picard is my favourite Star Trek captain. I had no idea of Stewart’s upbringing in a poor Yorkshire family and his decades of struggle as an actor.
I felt particularly moved by Stewart’s descriptions of his earlier life, his friends and family, his hardships and delights. Also the people he didn’t get along with – understandably I doubt Stewart could be quite so forthcoming in his later life, about people who are still alive. Throughout Stewart provides some great insights into the art of acting and a good impression of his life as an actor. Some photographs complement the text well.
I appreciated Stewart’s own humility in his shortcomings and in acknowledging his indebtedness to those who had supported his career – the humility felt genuine to me. Likewise, his admiration for other accomplished and kindly people in his life.
Stewart isn’t perfect (who is?), and there is one part of his personal life in which I think he made a grave mistake. Deep down, despite what struck me as a bit of rationalisation on his part, I suspect he realises this too. That said, I was not particularly fascinated to know about his private life: it’s his professional life, what influenced it and his outlook as an actor that most interested me.
This is a book that I may well read again in a few years time.
I had a book gift card burning a hole in my wallet, but the bookshop I had to use it at stocks few of the books I’d be interested in reading in hard copy. I bought this simply because it was in the price range and Jean-Luc Picard is my favourite Star Trek captain. I had no idea of Stewart’s upbringing in a poor Yorkshire family and his decades of struggle as an actor.
I felt particularly moved by Stewart’s descriptions of his earlier life, his friends and family, his hardships and delights. Also the people he didn’t get along with – understandably I doubt Stewart could be quite so forthcoming in his later life, about people who are still alive. Throughout Stewart provides some great insights into the art of acting and a good impression of his life as an actor. Some photographs complement the text well.
I appreciated Stewart’s own humility in his shortcomings and in acknowledging his indebtedness to those who had supported his career – the humility felt genuine to me. Likewise, his admiration for other accomplished and kindly people in his life.
Stewart isn’t perfect (who is?), and there is one part of his personal life in which I think he made a grave mistake. Deep down, despite what struck me as a bit of rationalisation on his part, I suspect he realises this too. That said, I was not particularly fascinated to know about his private life: it’s his professional life, what influenced it and his outlook as an actor that most interested me.
This is a book that I may well read again in a few years time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism