It's Not a Runner Bean...: Dispatches from a Slightly Successful Comedian by Mark Steel

by Mark Steel

Dispatches from a slightly successful comedian.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Comedy, Biography, Politics

Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is a British socialist columnist, author and comedian. He was a member of the Socialist Workers Party from his late teens until 2007.

Reviews

[Kristian Gunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy enough to agree with Mark on many points he makes as a result of his observations as a writer and a comic, but the prose is very busy and I found I had to make quite an effort to keep reading to the end. I did though!

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mildly interesting read about the business of being a comedian. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but I don't think it is intended to be.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's...fine. A series of quite funny and interesting anecdotes and stories. As useful as a chronicle of the miners' strike as anything else

[Newfad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny in parts but dates itself with its right-on 80s slant - still very relevant but very of its time.

[Paul Whitla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and insightful book from a veteran stand up performer. Low key and reflective. His passion for the causes he believes in comes through and he is open about the difficulties and challenges of the work of being a comedian.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled 'Dispatches from a slightly successful comedian', this book is a sort of record of the experience of becoming a comedian. It's less a classic memoir (the book Reasons to be cheerful is much more along these lines) than a series of thoughts about the adventures endured during the rise to minor fame. The entries are mostly short, and could almost be newspaper columns. They tend to be mostly self-contained too, so you can read them in a short burst (handy when traveling or looking after a mischievous daughter!)

Some of the most interesting thoughts revolved around appearing on television and radio (it is clear that radio is more suitable for his approach to life) and the Edinburgh Festival (an arts festival which runs in the Scottish capital each year and is well worth the visit). As a sometimes attendant of the Festival I enjoyed his thoughts on the level of professionalism that has crept into the events nowadays, and whether this might have changed its very nature. I can't claim to have been going for long enough to notice any change...

[Jason Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Steel characterises himself herein as a Slightly Successful comedian. It's typically honest. The book is a collection of anecdotes and reflections, charting his 'rise' to (slight) success. This immediately breaks it into handy bite-size pieces, already making for an easy read; but he is also careful to focus each chapterlette, bringing insight out of events: it's not deep philosophy, but he does have things to say and doesn't meander off-topic. On top of that, his writing is also very funny, perhaps more reliably than his performances, and I often struggled to contain my laughter on the bus. :)

Steel is a very grounded and good-hearted fellow, proudly leftie-liberal but not blinkered against failings on any side of politics. Hard to see how anyone could dislike this pleasing and amusing read.

[Steve Gillway · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice read that combines his meteoric rise ( snigger snigger) I say that as he considered himself only a slightly successful comedian. He does lift the veil on showbusiness, comedy clubs and the celebrity culture in general and has sideswipes at a few people on the way. This made me laugh throughout, even though it was written a decade or more ago.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Steel never fails to delight and inspire me.