Thursday, October 29, 2015

Review: So, Anyway...

So, Anyway...
John Cleese

This is definitely a book for John Cleese Fans. It's insightful, funny in parts and expansive. It focuses mainly on his early years, his time at St. Peter's Prep School in Weston-super-Mare, Clifton College and Cambridge University. The second half of the book follows what he did after University and how he turned his University hobby of comedy writing and performances into a profession.

Cleese explains throughout how he and others came up with comic sketches, scenes and programs as well as providing insight into what makes certain types of jokes and scenes work. An aspiring comedian and/or, comic writer will no doubt find this useful and thought provoking.

There were some funny bits to this book and one of my favorites came early on when Cleese mentioned that he was offered a job at his former school St. Peter's before going of to Cambridge. When asked to teach the subjects of History, Geography and English he reminded the Headmaster that he had been a student of Science and didn't know anything about these other subjects. The headmaster told him not to worry, the boys were only ten years old so as long as he stayed a page ahead of them everything would be fine.

While this book was long on his professional career it was short on his personal life. Although he focuses quite a bit on his parents in the early part and he mentions his first marriage. The further one reads the less he reveals about personal relations other than with those connected to his professional work. Having said that, anyone who is a fan of John Cleese, Monty Python or British Comedy programs will find something to like in this book.


Thanks to blogging for books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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