Little Pot Boiler

by Spike Milligan

A delightful collection of 'Milligan's' little gems, drawings, poems, etc

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Comics, Childrens

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan, known as Spike, was a comedian, writer and musician. He was of Irish descent, but spent most of his childhood in India and lived most of his later life in England, moving to Australia after retirement. He is famous for his work in The Goon Show, children's poetry and a series of comical autobiographical novels about his experiences serving in the British Army in WWII. Spike Milligan suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to depression and frequent breakdowns, but he will be remembered as a comic genius. His tombstone reads 'I told you I was ill' in Gaelic.

Reviews

[Christopher Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

"British." That was going to be the sum total of my review, but just in case you wouldn't understand that as a compliment, or why "British" only warranted 2 stars, here are a few more comments. It definitely is a product of its time, a '60s-era British humorfest of pre-Gilliam art-cut-up humor, puns, one-liners, observational sketches, and Spike Milligan being Spike Milligan. The occasional "shout outs" as the kids say to his fellow Goon Show members are likely the highlights of this little soupcon-of-a-book, as most of its humor, while thoroughly British, is not Milligan's best. It has a dollop of political humor, virtually all of which will be lost on an American audience, especially in the 21st century (and possibly even a young British audience of today) - imagine how little you'd laugh at hearing jokes about American senator shenanigans from the '50s, people you've never heard of, nor should you have. It's a mildly whimsical romp, but it's not terribly funny, even for Spike Milligan, but I'm more grateful he was given the freedom to do these little things than irritated at its sub-par-ness.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how you sometimes borrow a book from a friend and then just don't quite get around to returning it for a while? This is my personal record: borrowed in 1976, returned in 2009. Anyway, it's now with its rightful owner again.

Unfortunately, having given it back, I no longer have it to hand when I want to quote some of the poems. From memory, here are the ones I liked best:

My Nose

My nose, my nose lived dangerously
Its courage was no stunt!
Throughout the goriest battles
My nose was out in front!

But when the war was over
And we'd defeated the Hun
Suddenly, for no reason at all
My nose began to run!

The Trouser Bird

Have you ever heard
of the Trouser Bird?
It lives on top of houses
and it wears its nest like trousers.

The second poem features a fine picture of the Trouser Bird, illustrating its unusual nesting habits.

[russell barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another one from my youth. Reading it again, I can see how myself and my father could be thought of as really really annoying. Still, I've had Bump going through my mind all bloody week - and now you can too!

Things that go 'Bump' in the night,
Really shouldn't give one a fright.
It's the holes in the ears
that let in the fear,
that and the absence of light.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Milligan's best work, but bits are wonderful and the rest is good enough.

[Roy McDine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little read - typical of his witty self, if verging on the mega-childish.

[Alan Fricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slight thing but some lovely little bits of milligan

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty fun because it was a mixture of Milligan’s poetry and some prose to go with it, meaning it felt like some soup or something being cooked on the hob, if that’s not too torturous of a metaphor.

I mean, it was nothing to go out of your way for, but it was okay and pretty typical of Milligan’s stuff. I’m glad I read it, but only for completion’s sake. Yeah.

[Goodreeds User · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of these should have stayed in the drafts

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would've appreciated this more if I had read it during that Just Discovering Monty Python and Humor Outside American TV Variety Shows and Newspaper Comic Strips phase we all go through.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

R.'s just reminded me I read this book a long long time ago. I preferred Puckoon.

[John Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and silly

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this book in a charity shop and thought I'd give it a go. I think a lot of the jokes probably went over my head but there were some funny moments that got some chuckles out of me.

I particularly liked the poems: 'Lobster', and 'Carrington Briggs'

[Jayden Goodrem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny as Spike Milligan is mad as always

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshingly silly.

[Paddy Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any spike fans

[Kelly Lou 🐝 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is funny 😄 Spike Milligan is off his rocker and I love it!! Haha

[EstherCW · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very silly stuff from Spike, just as you’d expect

[Iain Watson]

The Little Pot Boiler (A Star Book) by Spike Milligan (1979)