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reader_fictions 's review for:
Too Much Is Not Enough
by Andrew Rannells
One of the best celebrity memoirs I've read. Usually I feel like they skate on the surface, a collection of humorous (or not) anecdotes about their life that leave you not feeling like you know too much more about the person whose memoir you've just read. Rannells doesn't do that.
Nor does he focus only on the subjects most people might know him from. In fact, Too Much Is Not Enough ends with Andrew's first role on Broadway, long before he achieved the larger fame he has now (though I still don't think he's a household name). There are no special behind-the-scenes tidbits about Book of Mormon, Hamilton, or Girls. There's an occasional reference, but the focus really is on his childhood, on his route to success and not on the success itself. While I signed up for this book because of what I knew him from, I think it was better for not being that.
Andrew Rannells tells his story in a roughly linear fashion, though sometimes diving back to tell stories for context. He doesn't attempt to cover everything, but there's a real sense of honesty to everything. I think that came from the way that he not only told stories about what he did but included his own analysis, thanks to therapy and self-reflection, about why he did what he did. The stories aren't just anecdotes; they're life experiences that had a massive impact on him and his development, ones he has clearly wrestled with as he went along. He's open about mistakes he made, sexual abuse, and grief. It's one of the few celebrity memoirs that really makes the author feel like a real, ordinary person, likely because it doesn't focus on his years as a celebrity. Rannells rarely name-drops, for example.
I listened to this on a whim, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Too Much Is Not Enough. I hope Rannells writes more of his story, because he's got a genuine knack for it.
Nor does he focus only on the subjects most people might know him from. In fact, Too Much Is Not Enough ends with Andrew's first role on Broadway, long before he achieved the larger fame he has now (though I still don't think he's a household name). There are no special behind-the-scenes tidbits about Book of Mormon, Hamilton, or Girls. There's an occasional reference, but the focus really is on his childhood, on his route to success and not on the success itself. While I signed up for this book because of what I knew him from, I think it was better for not being that.
Andrew Rannells tells his story in a roughly linear fashion, though sometimes diving back to tell stories for context. He doesn't attempt to cover everything, but there's a real sense of honesty to everything. I think that came from the way that he not only told stories about what he did but included his own analysis, thanks to therapy and self-reflection, about why he did what he did. The stories aren't just anecdotes; they're life experiences that had a massive impact on him and his development, ones he has clearly wrestled with as he went along. He's open about mistakes he made, sexual abuse, and grief. It's one of the few celebrity memoirs that really makes the author feel like a real, ordinary person, likely because it doesn't focus on his years as a celebrity. Rannells rarely name-drops, for example.
I listened to this on a whim, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Too Much Is Not Enough. I hope Rannells writes more of his story, because he's got a genuine knack for it.