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So, Anyway...
The autobiography of comedy legend John Cleese.
John Cleese's huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected with Monty Python, on Fawlty Towers, and beyond now seem written into comedy's DNA. In this rollicking memoir, So, Anyway..., Cleese takes readers on a Grand Tour of his ascent in the entertainment world, from his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town and his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), to the founding of the landmark comedy troupe that would propel him to worldwide renown.
Cleese was just days away from graduating Cambridge and setting off on a law career when he was visited by two BBC executives, who offered him a job writing comedy for radio. That encounter--and a near-simultaneous offer to take his university humour revue to London's famed West End--propelled him down a different path, cutting his teeth writing for stars such as David Frost and Peter Sellers, and eventually joining the five other Pythons to pioneer a new kind of comedy that prized invention, silliness, and absurdity. Along the way, he found his first true love with the actress Connie Booth and transformed himself from a reluctant performer to a world-class actor and back again.
Twisting and turning through surprising stories and hilarious digressions--with some brief pauses along the way that comprise a fascinating primer on what's funny and why--this story of a young man's journey to the pinnacle of comedy is a masterly performance by a master performer.
John Cleese's huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected with Monty Python, on Fawlty Towers, and beyond now seem written into comedy's DNA. In this rollicking memoir, So, Anyway..., Cleese takes readers on a Grand Tour of his ascent in the entertainment world, from his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town and his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), to the founding of the landmark comedy troupe that would propel him to worldwide renown.
Cleese was just days away from graduating Cambridge and setting off on a law career when he was visited by two BBC executives, who offered him a job writing comedy for radio. That encounter--and a near-simultaneous offer to take his university humour revue to London's famed West End--propelled him down a different path, cutting his teeth writing for stars such as David Frost and Peter Sellers, and eventually joining the five other Pythons to pioneer a new kind of comedy that prized invention, silliness, and absurdity. Along the way, he found his first true love with the actress Connie Booth and transformed himself from a reluctant performer to a world-class actor and back again.
Twisting and turning through surprising stories and hilarious digressions--with some brief pauses along the way that comprise a fascinating primer on what's funny and why--this story of a young man's journey to the pinnacle of comedy is a masterly performance by a master performer.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
1216 people are currently reading
10522 people want to read
About the author
John Cleese
116 books573 followersJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and singer.
Cleese is probably best known for his various roles in the British comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus, his role as Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers and his various roles in the British comedy The Frost Report. He also played the role of Archie Leach in the American / British comedy film A Fish Called Wanda.
Cleese is probably best known for his various roles in the British comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus, his role as Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers and his various roles in the British comedy The Frost Report. He also played the role of Archie Leach in the American / British comedy film A Fish Called Wanda.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,830 reviews
December 17, 2014
Update Rant:(Because apparently I have to state the obvious).This review is simply my personal opinion of this book, everyone else is entitled to their own opinion. Just as I do not begrudge readers who enjoy books I hate and/or hate books I love, I would appreciate if others would do the same. My rating of this book has nothing to do with John Cleese as a person or his previous or current works. This rating is based on my OWN OPINION of this single book. Being attacked for an unbiased review is disgusting. Let go of the hate people!
FREE ADVICE!
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
― Gautama Buddha
Luckily for trolls I just auto delete all rude ramblings. You're Welcome.
/End Rant
Review:
Well that was quite possibly the most tedious autobiography that I have ever had the misfortune of reading. I enjoyed the first 20%, but after that it quickly went downhill. The pointless rambles , constant copy/pasted sketches and petty judgements of former colleagues did little to keep me interested. This doesn't feel so much of an autobiography as a boring and pointless collection of forgetful paragraphs. 2.5/5
Buy, Borrow or Bin verdict: BIN
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
FREE ADVICE!
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
― Gautama Buddha
Luckily for trolls I just auto delete all rude ramblings. You're Welcome.
/End Rant
Review:
Well that was quite possibly the most tedious autobiography that I have ever had the misfortune of reading. I enjoyed the first 20%, but after that it quickly went downhill. The pointless rambles , constant copy/pasted sketches and petty judgements of former colleagues did little to keep me interested. This doesn't feel so much of an autobiography as a boring and pointless collection of forgetful paragraphs. 2.5/5
Buy, Borrow or Bin verdict: BIN
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
September 18, 2020
3.5 ⭐'s
October 10, 2014
I received an advance copy of this autobiography from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very generous and unexpected autobiography. I say that because most books of these types merely retell the scandals, bask in the highlights, and dish the dirt on the nasty habits of famous people. Well, we all love that and if we are being honest, that is why we paid the price of admission.
Not so this time. While Mr. Cleese does tell us what he really thinks of some of the famous, and not so famous, people in his life, the book isn’t really about that. Even when he does roast someone, it is usually in terms that are so over the top, and above all so damn funny, that it is hard to see any animosity in it. No lurid tales. No hatchet jobs on celebrities. What you do get is an extended tour inside the mind of a comic genius.
Mr. Cleese is a very intelligent, well read, and introspective man---who just happens to enjoy and be very good at absurd and farce. For me though, his brand of comedy is superior to the more recent absurdist humor of say a Will Farrell or Seth Green because through it all, it never loses its intelligence. You don’t feel that you lost IQ points just by watching the movie. Quite the opposite, actually. I always felt that Cleese and the other writers that he worked with had a respect for their audience that I feel is lacking in some modern writers. Give me A Fish Called Wanda every time.
Writers. This is a book about comedy writers. That is a real distinction here. Cleese points it out and that is something I took away from this book. Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Palin, and Jones were first writers, and only secondarily performers. Cleese doesn’t focus on description of performances, other than telling in hilarious and self deprecating detail as to how nervous he was before many important performances or how something got screwed up and why. What he does do is describe his views on what is funny, and even why we perceive it as funny. As someone who might have been happy living the life of an academic, he gives the reader a master class in comedy, and human nature. He also lets us in on what makes him tick, both as a comedy writer, and as a person, which in turn shaped his individual mindset and, from there, his very original sense of humor. It is almost as if a famous musician would explain what he was thinking as he wrote a iconic song, which they seldom do. I doubt they would want us to know. Not so with Cleese who seems to enjoy the analysis, as did I.
If you are interested in hearing who had the drinking problems, who cheated on who, and who had the most sex with farm animals, this is not the right autobiography. If you are interested in an intelligent conversation with a comedy genius (who doesn’t consider himself to be one) about the nature of comedy and comedians, the history of British comedy, and his own place in the overall scheme of things, then you will enjoy this very thorough yet lightly conversational book.
This is a very generous and unexpected autobiography. I say that because most books of these types merely retell the scandals, bask in the highlights, and dish the dirt on the nasty habits of famous people. Well, we all love that and if we are being honest, that is why we paid the price of admission.
Not so this time. While Mr. Cleese does tell us what he really thinks of some of the famous, and not so famous, people in his life, the book isn’t really about that. Even when he does roast someone, it is usually in terms that are so over the top, and above all so damn funny, that it is hard to see any animosity in it. No lurid tales. No hatchet jobs on celebrities. What you do get is an extended tour inside the mind of a comic genius.
Mr. Cleese is a very intelligent, well read, and introspective man---who just happens to enjoy and be very good at absurd and farce. For me though, his brand of comedy is superior to the more recent absurdist humor of say a Will Farrell or Seth Green because through it all, it never loses its intelligence. You don’t feel that you lost IQ points just by watching the movie. Quite the opposite, actually. I always felt that Cleese and the other writers that he worked with had a respect for their audience that I feel is lacking in some modern writers. Give me A Fish Called Wanda every time.
Writers. This is a book about comedy writers. That is a real distinction here. Cleese points it out and that is something I took away from this book. Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Palin, and Jones were first writers, and only secondarily performers. Cleese doesn’t focus on description of performances, other than telling in hilarious and self deprecating detail as to how nervous he was before many important performances or how something got screwed up and why. What he does do is describe his views on what is funny, and even why we perceive it as funny. As someone who might have been happy living the life of an academic, he gives the reader a master class in comedy, and human nature. He also lets us in on what makes him tick, both as a comedy writer, and as a person, which in turn shaped his individual mindset and, from there, his very original sense of humor. It is almost as if a famous musician would explain what he was thinking as he wrote a iconic song, which they seldom do. I doubt they would want us to know. Not so with Cleese who seems to enjoy the analysis, as did I.
If you are interested in hearing who had the drinking problems, who cheated on who, and who had the most sex with farm animals, this is not the right autobiography. If you are interested in an intelligent conversation with a comedy genius (who doesn’t consider himself to be one) about the nature of comedy and comedians, the history of British comedy, and his own place in the overall scheme of things, then you will enjoy this very thorough yet lightly conversational book.
April 21, 2020
R handed me the package with a wry smile and an apologetic twist of the mouth. "I know it's not your usual style Mum. But it's not the run-of-the-mill celebrity memoir, I'm sure...."
Celebrity memoir!?!?!? Sheesh.
But then I opened it.
Ha!
The best presents are the ones you never knew you wanted.
For yes, I have long nurtured a secret, what shall I say?idolization esteem? fondness? for Mr Cleese. For one thing he makes me laugh, quite helplessly and uncontrollably, and for another he dreamt up Archie Leach. Archie Leach in A Fish Called Wanda. A man who can transport Wanda by speaking a foreign language: now there's an intriguing idea for a polyglot.
I like to think there's some resemblance. Just a bit.
So, anyway, the book.
It takes us from his beginnings in Weston-super-Mare to the point where the Monty Python team got together, some of the dynamics between them, and a very swift skip forward to the O2 reunion in 2014. Very little about his private life, only Connie Booth puts in an appearance, not the three (three!) following wives. Unless your early years were spent with The Goon Show, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, The Frost Report and Monty Python's Flying Circus then the name-dropping (and inevitably there has to be some) probably won't mean much to you, but there is some pretty astute analysis of how comedy works, and ideas for getting the creative juices flowing. When he and Graham Chapman decided to approach the other Pythons on the strength of the children's show they were doing (Do Not Adjust Your Sets) Michael Mills, head of BBC Comedy, told them to go away and make thirteen programmes, without any kind of pilot or presentation or even a clear idea of what they were intending to do. So.
I like plummet too.
So, anyway.
Naturally, as one might expect, the laugh/page ratio is excellent. Just one more: (Weston-super-Mare was bombed on August 14, 1940)
So, anyway.
You can probably detect from that quote that a certain tolerance is needed: superciliousness and rejection of pc language do bubble through sometimes, but wry self-deprecation more than makes up for the odd lapse.
A nice bit of comic relief.
Celebrity memoir!?!?!? Sheesh.
But then I opened it.
Ha!
The best presents are the ones you never knew you wanted.
For yes, I have long nurtured a secret, what shall I say?
I like to think there's some resemblance. Just a bit.
So, anyway, the book.
It takes us from his beginnings in Weston-super-Mare to the point where the Monty Python team got together, some of the dynamics between them, and a very swift skip forward to the O2 reunion in 2014. Very little about his private life, only Connie Booth puts in an appearance, not the three (three!) following wives. Unless your early years were spent with The Goon Show, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, The Frost Report and Monty Python's Flying Circus then the name-dropping (and inevitably there has to be some) probably won't mean much to you, but there is some pretty astute analysis of how comedy works, and ideas for getting the creative juices flowing. When he and Graham Chapman decided to approach the other Pythons on the strength of the children's show they were doing (Do Not Adjust Your Sets) Michael Mills, head of BBC Comedy, told them to go away and make thirteen programmes, without any kind of pilot or presentation or even a clear idea of what they were intending to do. So.
So the next morning Chapman and I sat down and stared into the distance for a bit, before, as usual, I picked up Roget's Thesaurus and started reading out words at random.
"Buttercup. Filter. Catastrophe. Glee. Plummet."
"Ah," said Gra. "I like plummet."
A couple of minutes passed.
"A sheep would plummet, wouldn't it?" one of us said.
"If it tried to fly, you mean?" said the other.
(I should explain that when you've written a piece with someone you can never remember afterwards who exactly contributed what.)
"But why would it want to fly?"
"To escape?"
I like plummet too.
So, anyway.
Naturally, as one might expect, the laugh/page ratio is excellent. Just one more: (Weston-super-Mare was bombed on August 14, 1940)
The Germans were a people famous for their efficiency, so why would they drop perfectly good bombs on Weston-super-Mare, when there was nothing in Weston that a bomb could destroy that could possibly be as valuable as the bomb that destroyed it?
The Germans did return, however, and several times, which mystified everyone. Nevertheless I can't help thinking that Westonians actually quite liked being bombed: it gave them a significance that was otherwise lacking from their lives. But that still leaves the question why would the Hun have bothered? Was it just Teutonic joi de vivre? Did the pilots mistake the Weston seafront for the Western Front? I have heard it quite seriously put forward by older Westonians that it was done at the behest of William Joyce, the infamous "Lord Haw-Haw", who was hanged as a traitor in 1944 by the British for making Nazi propaganda broadcasts to Britain during the war. When I asked these amateur historians why a man of Irish descent who was born in Brooklyn would have such an animus against Weston that he would buttonhole Hitler on the matter, they fell silent. I prefer to believe that it was because of a grudge held by Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering on account of an unsavoury incident on Weston pier in the 1920s, probably involving Noel Coward and Terence Rattigan.
My father's explanation, however, makes the most sense: he said the Germans bombed Weston to show that they really do have a sense of humour.
So, anyway.
You can probably detect from that quote that a certain tolerance is needed: superciliousness and rejection of pc language do bubble through sometimes, but wry self-deprecation more than makes up for the odd lapse.
A nice bit of comic relief.
November 14, 2014
This book was like a sandwich made from really good bread but nothing else. It was highly entertaining, but absolutely incomplete. It was a fascinating and amusing insight into John Cleese's childhood and early career, but then simply and abruptly stops short. He gives detailed accounts of every production that he ever did prior to the Pythons, including transcripts of many sketches but once he arrives at his Python years, he stops so suddenly that you begin to search the cover for something about this being Volume One. Surely, he can't go into such detail about how he met this actor, how he got this job, what he thought about this person, etc and then just say "Then we started filming the Pythons-the end." He describes his relationship with Graham, but barely mentions any of the others. I understand that this was only a portion of his career, but I would think it was as significant at least as his early work. In addition, he describes his early relationship and marriage to Connie, but again just quits. He never discusses their breakup nor any of his other marriages. While it was an interesting peek into the beginnings of his life and career, it felt a bit like running off of a cliff. You are going along enjoying yourself and having the feeling that this is all leading to a certain point, but just as you arrive at that point, blam- it's over.
August 17, 2017
I expected a book about Monty Python member, John Cleese, to be a wacky, non-linear story of life sketches linked together by loony intervals (“That’s a link!”) Instead, it was wonderful remembrances starting with his childhood and ending at Monty Python. Of note, if you are a Python fan you only get the last two chapters about the actual writing and performing of the show and the 2014 Reunion shows. However, along the way you learn the genesis of classics like the cheese shop and dead parrot sketches and how he met the other Python members. (His brilliant follow-up series, Fawlty Towers is mentioned to a lesser degree, unfortunately.)
First and foremost, John Cleese is a writer. Originally he went to Cambridge to be a lawyer, joining Footlights at the school to write and perform, where he met medical student, Graham Chapman. This led to writing gigs for the BBC where he wrote for David Frost and worked with the likes of Marty Feldman and the two Ronnies. Interestingly, when David Frost gave Graham and John a show of their own, they insisted Marty Feldman appear in front of the camera as well as write (David Frost felt him too funny looking). At first they had to work with Marty patiently on his lines, until he got comfortable in front of the camera. A star was born! John also wrote for and worked with the world’s leading comedy actor at the time, Peter Sellers.
So anyway…John Cleese is witty, intelligent and self-deprecating, making his book a wonderful read. (As an added bonus, if you leave the book right side up on your nightstand, his eyes will follow you around the room.)
First and foremost, John Cleese is a writer. Originally he went to Cambridge to be a lawyer, joining Footlights at the school to write and perform, where he met medical student, Graham Chapman. This led to writing gigs for the BBC where he wrote for David Frost and worked with the likes of Marty Feldman and the two Ronnies. Interestingly, when David Frost gave Graham and John a show of their own, they insisted Marty Feldman appear in front of the camera as well as write (David Frost felt him too funny looking). At first they had to work with Marty patiently on his lines, until he got comfortable in front of the camera. A star was born! John also wrote for and worked with the world’s leading comedy actor at the time, Peter Sellers.
So anyway…John Cleese is witty, intelligent and self-deprecating, making his book a wonderful read. (As an added bonus, if you leave the book right side up on your nightstand, his eyes will follow you around the room.)
January 15, 2015
Boy did this one suck to review.
To clear the air, I should start by saying I love everything Python. And in interviews about the book, Cleese always came off as kind and as witty as ever.
So I expected to find more of that inside the book. I assumed this was reasonable request....
Luckily I was also aware that John Cleese has been known to be difficult at times, and as it turns out, this is the Cleese I should have been expecting.
This is the Cleese who seems to enjoy nothing more than spending his time complaining about people. This seems odd for a comedian, and is very off putting to read since so many of these people are either in no position to respond (read: probably dead), or people he worked with for many years and shouldn't be so dismissive of. It is especially odd given how much John harps on how his Englishness prevents him from doing so.
It was also jarring how often he attempted to apply his understanding of psychology to many unnecessary situations. He will throw out the name of a book he has read, comment on how something is a Freudian penis, or just say what one of his many docs have thought about an event in his life. In the end, they just really felt forced and didn't contribute to the book.
This doesn't mean that the entire book was a flop, and there were many enjoyable parts, its just that all this detracted so much from the rest.
It is sad to say, but I feel let down by one of the ministry's top officials.
To clear the air, I should start by saying I love everything Python. And in interviews about the book, Cleese always came off as kind and as witty as ever.
So I expected to find more of that inside the book. I assumed this was reasonable request....
Luckily I was also aware that John Cleese has been known to be difficult at times, and as it turns out, this is the Cleese I should have been expecting.
This is the Cleese who seems to enjoy nothing more than spending his time complaining about people. This seems odd for a comedian, and is very off putting to read since so many of these people are either in no position to respond (read: probably dead), or people he worked with for many years and shouldn't be so dismissive of. It is especially odd given how much John harps on how his Englishness prevents him from doing so.
It was also jarring how often he attempted to apply his understanding of psychology to many unnecessary situations. He will throw out the name of a book he has read, comment on how something is a Freudian penis, or just say what one of his many docs have thought about an event in his life. In the end, they just really felt forced and didn't contribute to the book.
This doesn't mean that the entire book was a flop, and there were many enjoyable parts, its just that all this detracted so much from the rest.
It is sad to say, but I feel let down by one of the ministry's top officials.
January 22, 2018
I bought So, Anyway... by John Cleese on a whim. It was an Audible deal of the day. Why not? I like John Cleese's work. I like Monty Python. I like comedy. It was a bargain price.
It was much better than I was expecting. An absolute delight. John focuses on his early life through to the first Monty Python programmes, with a final chapter on the Monty Python reunion shows at the O2 Arena in 2014. Reading about these shows sent me off to YouTube to watch some of the show and I recommend you do the same. A more life-reaffirming bunch of clips it's harder to imagine.
I always appreciate listening to autobiographies read by their authors. John's narration is wonderful. What's most endearing and enjoyable is hearing him laugh during anecdotes he relates, having been reminded of the humour whilst telling the tale.
There's loads to love in 'So, Anyway...'. This is from the blurb (which saves me having to write it all out myself)...
John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter's Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic homelife, with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work, as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights of Monty Python.
If you like the sound of that little lot then rest assured you'll thoroughly enjoy this book. Weaved into the memories are other musings too.
It's blimming marvellous. I hope he'll write a follow up as there's lots more of his life still to explore.
4/5
It was much better than I was expecting. An absolute delight. John focuses on his early life through to the first Monty Python programmes, with a final chapter on the Monty Python reunion shows at the O2 Arena in 2014. Reading about these shows sent me off to YouTube to watch some of the show and I recommend you do the same. A more life-reaffirming bunch of clips it's harder to imagine.
I always appreciate listening to autobiographies read by their authors. John's narration is wonderful. What's most endearing and enjoyable is hearing him laugh during anecdotes he relates, having been reminded of the humour whilst telling the tale.
There's loads to love in 'So, Anyway...'. This is from the blurb (which saves me having to write it all out myself)...
John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter's Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic homelife, with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work, as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights of Monty Python.
If you like the sound of that little lot then rest assured you'll thoroughly enjoy this book. Weaved into the memories are other musings too.
It's blimming marvellous. I hope he'll write a follow up as there's lots more of his life still to explore.
4/5
May 14, 2017
Ja lieber John Cleese wo warst Du noch mal mit Deinen Gedanken.....
Auf jeden Fall überhaupt nicht dort, wo ich Dich erwartet hätte. Wenn ich eine Cleese Biografie lese, will ich wissen, wie der Ritter der Kokosnuss entstanden ist, wie die Sexszenen mit Jamie Lee Curtis waren, wie zur Hölle die Pythons auf einige Szenen im Sinn des Lebens und beim Leben des Brian gekommen sind, wie man mit meinem Regie-Idol Terry Gilliam zusammenarbeiten kann und wie die Truppe sich so ganz privat aufführt.
Was habe ich bekommen? Ganze 25 Seiten von Monty Python und sonst 450 Seiten Geschwafel, in denen sogar jeder langweilige Lehrer der Grundschule - und nicht nur die interessanten Persönlichkeiten, die geprägt haben - aufs lähmenste in ihrer Mittelmäßgikeit skizziert werden. Ich kann mich selbst gar nicht mehr an meine eigenen durchschnittlichen Lehrer erinnern. Manche bezeichnen diese Bio im guten Sinne als geschwätzig - dem guten Sinn bzw. der guten Absicht hier kann ich überhaupt nicht zustimmen. Die ganzen Szenen eines ziemlich faden Lebens werden gnadenlos breit ausgewalzt - nach 150 Seiten war er noch nicht mal auf der Uni und ich schätze mal 60% der Weltbevölkerung haben in den ersten 18 Jahren ihres Lebens auch interessantere und berichtenswertere Szenen erlebt.
Auf der Uni wird das Buch dann ein bisschen besser, weil Cleese das erste Mal Comedyluft schnuppert, aber dann ist es auch immer wieder der gleiche lähmende Ablauf. Ein paar Ideen, ein paar bekannte spannende Leute, ein bisschen Witz aber nicht wirklich viel, ein paar Pannen, und die Sketche seitenlang im Buch aufgeschrieben (was außer für Fachleute selbstverständlich im Medium Buch ohne Darstellung gar nicht funktioniert).
Eigentlich müsste auf der Biografie stehen: Eine Bio von John Cleese bevor er wirklich etwas konnte und Python wurde, aber das haben weder der Autor noch der Verlag irgendwo angedeutet. Ich finde es grenzt ja schon an Beschiss, den Fans für das Prequel - oder soll ich es fades Vorgepänkel der eigentlichen Biografie nennen - knappe 24 Euro abzuknöpfen und mit keinem Wort zu erwähnen, dass es nicht um die Pythons geht, im Gegenteil, mit der Truppe auch noch irreführend im Klappentext zu werben. Der Gipfel an Gier, Knausrigkeit und Inkompetenz wird dann auch noch durch den Verlag erklommen, indem der erstens zu geizig für ein Lesezeichenbändchen war und zweitens bei der Übersetzung offensichtlich sehr viel Geld gespart hat, wodurch vor allem zu Beginn des Werke derart haarsträubende Satzfehler, Fallfehler etc. auftraten, dass selbst mir, die gewöhnt ist, durch das Lesen von Studentenmasterthesen geflissentlich darüber hinwegzusehen und sich nicht zu ärgern, die Galle hochgekommen ist. Am Lektorat wurde offensichtlich auch gespart, denn sonst wären sicher 200 Seiten zusammengestrichen worden.
Dabei ist es nicht so, dass Cleese gar nicht schreiben kann, machmal skizziert er Personen sehr treffend und liefert, wenn ich mir meine Post-Its anschaue, 6 durchaus knackige Bonmots als Sätze, was ihm von mir einen zweiten Stern eingebracht hat. Aber die Einstellung, mit der Herr John Cleese an dieses Werk herangegangen ist, finde ich dermaßen degoutant und überheblich seinen Fans gegenüber, dass mir die Spucke wegbleibt - lasst Euch die Worte dieses Herrn, der mich um 24 Euro und eine Woche Zeit beschissen hat, nur auf der Zunge zergehen. Hier erklärt er, warum er elend lange Sketchskripten in die Biografie hineingepackt hat, obwohl diese eben im Medium Buch, wenn sie nicht aufgeführt werden, für Otto Normalverbraucher, der noch nie Regieanweisungen gelesen hat, überhaupt nicht funktionieren:
"1. Die Sketche sind wirklich komisch (meiner Meinung nach und das ist mein verdammtes Buch)...
3. Ich weiß, dieses Buch soll eine Autobiografie sein, aber die Wahrheit ist, dass sich die meisten von Ihnen einen feuchten Kehrricht um die Person John Cleese scheren, oder was für mich und die vielschichtigen Seelennöte empfinden, die mich zu meinem besondern Ich machen".
Sorry mit so einer Einstellung schreibt man sicher keine Biografie für seine Fans. Das ist ein proaktive Herabwürdigung der sehr wohlgesonnenen Leserschaft, damit er dann nicht so ein schlechtes Gewissen hat, wenn er sie vorführt und abzockt. Auch ich war bis vor einer Woche ein Fan dieses Herren, aber das hat sich hiermit erübrigt. Widerlich.
Fazit: Sparts Euch! Und ich sag leise Servus zu einem Idol meiner Vergangenheit.
Auf jeden Fall überhaupt nicht dort, wo ich Dich erwartet hätte. Wenn ich eine Cleese Biografie lese, will ich wissen, wie der Ritter der Kokosnuss entstanden ist, wie die Sexszenen mit Jamie Lee Curtis waren, wie zur Hölle die Pythons auf einige Szenen im Sinn des Lebens und beim Leben des Brian gekommen sind, wie man mit meinem Regie-Idol Terry Gilliam zusammenarbeiten kann und wie die Truppe sich so ganz privat aufführt.
Was habe ich bekommen? Ganze 25 Seiten von Monty Python und sonst 450 Seiten Geschwafel, in denen sogar jeder langweilige Lehrer der Grundschule - und nicht nur die interessanten Persönlichkeiten, die geprägt haben - aufs lähmenste in ihrer Mittelmäßgikeit skizziert werden. Ich kann mich selbst gar nicht mehr an meine eigenen durchschnittlichen Lehrer erinnern. Manche bezeichnen diese Bio im guten Sinne als geschwätzig - dem guten Sinn bzw. der guten Absicht hier kann ich überhaupt nicht zustimmen. Die ganzen Szenen eines ziemlich faden Lebens werden gnadenlos breit ausgewalzt - nach 150 Seiten war er noch nicht mal auf der Uni und ich schätze mal 60% der Weltbevölkerung haben in den ersten 18 Jahren ihres Lebens auch interessantere und berichtenswertere Szenen erlebt.
Auf der Uni wird das Buch dann ein bisschen besser, weil Cleese das erste Mal Comedyluft schnuppert, aber dann ist es auch immer wieder der gleiche lähmende Ablauf. Ein paar Ideen, ein paar bekannte spannende Leute, ein bisschen Witz aber nicht wirklich viel, ein paar Pannen, und die Sketche seitenlang im Buch aufgeschrieben (was außer für Fachleute selbstverständlich im Medium Buch ohne Darstellung gar nicht funktioniert).
Eigentlich müsste auf der Biografie stehen: Eine Bio von John Cleese bevor er wirklich etwas konnte und Python wurde, aber das haben weder der Autor noch der Verlag irgendwo angedeutet. Ich finde es grenzt ja schon an Beschiss, den Fans für das Prequel - oder soll ich es fades Vorgepänkel der eigentlichen Biografie nennen - knappe 24 Euro abzuknöpfen und mit keinem Wort zu erwähnen, dass es nicht um die Pythons geht, im Gegenteil, mit der Truppe auch noch irreführend im Klappentext zu werben. Der Gipfel an Gier, Knausrigkeit und Inkompetenz wird dann auch noch durch den Verlag erklommen, indem der erstens zu geizig für ein Lesezeichenbändchen war und zweitens bei der Übersetzung offensichtlich sehr viel Geld gespart hat, wodurch vor allem zu Beginn des Werke derart haarsträubende Satzfehler, Fallfehler etc. auftraten, dass selbst mir, die gewöhnt ist, durch das Lesen von Studentenmasterthesen geflissentlich darüber hinwegzusehen und sich nicht zu ärgern, die Galle hochgekommen ist. Am Lektorat wurde offensichtlich auch gespart, denn sonst wären sicher 200 Seiten zusammengestrichen worden.
Dabei ist es nicht so, dass Cleese gar nicht schreiben kann, machmal skizziert er Personen sehr treffend und liefert, wenn ich mir meine Post-Its anschaue, 6 durchaus knackige Bonmots als Sätze, was ihm von mir einen zweiten Stern eingebracht hat. Aber die Einstellung, mit der Herr John Cleese an dieses Werk herangegangen ist, finde ich dermaßen degoutant und überheblich seinen Fans gegenüber, dass mir die Spucke wegbleibt - lasst Euch die Worte dieses Herrn, der mich um 24 Euro und eine Woche Zeit beschissen hat, nur auf der Zunge zergehen. Hier erklärt er, warum er elend lange Sketchskripten in die Biografie hineingepackt hat, obwohl diese eben im Medium Buch, wenn sie nicht aufgeführt werden, für Otto Normalverbraucher, der noch nie Regieanweisungen gelesen hat, überhaupt nicht funktionieren:
"1. Die Sketche sind wirklich komisch (meiner Meinung nach und das ist mein verdammtes Buch)...
3. Ich weiß, dieses Buch soll eine Autobiografie sein, aber die Wahrheit ist, dass sich die meisten von Ihnen einen feuchten Kehrricht um die Person John Cleese scheren, oder was für mich und die vielschichtigen Seelennöte empfinden, die mich zu meinem besondern Ich machen".
Sorry mit so einer Einstellung schreibt man sicher keine Biografie für seine Fans. Das ist ein proaktive Herabwürdigung der sehr wohlgesonnenen Leserschaft, damit er dann nicht so ein schlechtes Gewissen hat, wenn er sie vorführt und abzockt. Auch ich war bis vor einer Woche ein Fan dieses Herren, aber das hat sich hiermit erübrigt. Widerlich.
Fazit: Sparts Euch! Und ich sag leise Servus zu einem Idol meiner Vergangenheit.
June 13, 2020
A few months ago my daughter & I were fortunate enough to spend an evening at the theatre (remember those days ?!) listening to comedy legend John Cleese talk about his life. Every story he told was amusing & fascinating & I could have listened to him for days. So, this looked like a natural follow up to seeing him on stage.
Cleese takes us through his early days at school & university as well as moving house endless times....although his family always seemed to end up living back in Weston-super-Mare!
His early years in television comedy make for entertaining redaing, & despite his total inability to sing he still bizarley landed a role in the stage musical Half A Sixpence.
Sadly (for me at least) there are only a few chapters on his Monty Python years. However, although brief these are thoroughly enjoyable. And this is where the book ends. I wish Cleese had written another book on the Monty Python feature films, Fawlty Towers, Clockwise etc. Unfortunately he hasn't done this yet. I wish he would, as I'm sure it would be something completely different.
Cleese takes us through his early days at school & university as well as moving house endless times....although his family always seemed to end up living back in Weston-super-Mare!
His early years in television comedy make for entertaining redaing, & despite his total inability to sing he still bizarley landed a role in the stage musical Half A Sixpence.
Sadly (for me at least) there are only a few chapters on his Monty Python years. However, although brief these are thoroughly enjoyable. And this is where the book ends. I wish Cleese had written another book on the Monty Python feature films, Fawlty Towers, Clockwise etc. Unfortunately he hasn't done this yet. I wish he would, as I'm sure it would be something completely different.
May 19, 2016
[I've gotten behind in my reviews, and I was having a hard time convincing myself to write the next one in order, so screw that, I just moved on to the one I wanted to write about at the moment, and I may or may not ever succeed at filling in the gaps. But because I'm so behind, and taking a leave from work, I'm going to try to get all caught up, which means I may well be clogging up your feed for which I am sorry.]
This is exactly the sort of book I want to read by any sort of famous person. Many a biography/memoir by many an admired person has lead to disappointment, betrayal, and heartbreak. I had to quit reading Elvis Costello's book not because it jumped around, nor because it had too much about playing and recording music, nor even because I had to look him up on Wiki to get the basics facts of his life in my mind. No, what I couldn't bear was learning that he has a scene in mind, or a mood, and he comes up with a line or two, and then he hangs on to those lines until he finds an appropriate place to use them. It's all very good for Oscar Wilde to write and rewrite his best quips, they are jokes, they don't have to have continuity. But song lyrics? I loved Costello's lyrics, although I have always found it hard to remember more than two lines together. Now I know why. Sigh. I still love Costello, but I knew that I really didn't want to read any more of his book, because I could only bear so much of that sort of revelation.
No, what I want from a famous person's book is a series of amusing or fascinating anecdotes, demonstrating both the delights and the peculiar pains of their work. Really, I want to sit in my living room, just me, and Graham Norton, and John Cleese, and I want this very amusing man to be lead into telling me all his most amusing stories. And I want to see pictures of his cats.
This particular book ends quite early in Cleese's life, before Monty Python, although he does explain how that comes to be. This is school, mostly, and how he came to be studying law, and what it was like for him to be a teacher at the school he had attended only a few years earlier. That sort of thing. How supportive his father always was, how odd and difficult his mother could be. Really, about as much as I want to know about a stranger: what he cares about, what gives him joy, what he likes to do with his friends, some of what he's learned over the years about writing comedy. Lemurs. You know, casual small talk sort of stuff. With the occasional aside acknowledging some of the widespread prejudices of the times, and how much better life is for at least some people now because we've stopped that.
I've got two more reviews in this vein to come: Gloria Steinem and Illeana Douglas. I'll tell you now, so you can skip the reviews and go straight to the books. They're both exactly this kind of thing: amusing and interesting tales of people doing what they enjoy. Best enjoyed with cocktails and cigarettes, even if one neither drinks nor smokes, it's just the right mood.
Library copy
This is exactly the sort of book I want to read by any sort of famous person. Many a biography/memoir by many an admired person has lead to disappointment, betrayal, and heartbreak. I had to quit reading Elvis Costello's book not because it jumped around, nor because it had too much about playing and recording music, nor even because I had to look him up on Wiki to get the basics facts of his life in my mind. No, what I couldn't bear was learning that he has a scene in mind, or a mood, and he comes up with a line or two, and then he hangs on to those lines until he finds an appropriate place to use them. It's all very good for Oscar Wilde to write and rewrite his best quips, they are jokes, they don't have to have continuity. But song lyrics? I loved Costello's lyrics, although I have always found it hard to remember more than two lines together. Now I know why. Sigh. I still love Costello, but I knew that I really didn't want to read any more of his book, because I could only bear so much of that sort of revelation.
No, what I want from a famous person's book is a series of amusing or fascinating anecdotes, demonstrating both the delights and the peculiar pains of their work. Really, I want to sit in my living room, just me, and Graham Norton, and John Cleese, and I want this very amusing man to be lead into telling me all his most amusing stories. And I want to see pictures of his cats.
This particular book ends quite early in Cleese's life, before Monty Python, although he does explain how that comes to be. This is school, mostly, and how he came to be studying law, and what it was like for him to be a teacher at the school he had attended only a few years earlier. That sort of thing. How supportive his father always was, how odd and difficult his mother could be. Really, about as much as I want to know about a stranger: what he cares about, what gives him joy, what he likes to do with his friends, some of what he's learned over the years about writing comedy. Lemurs. You know, casual small talk sort of stuff. With the occasional aside acknowledging some of the widespread prejudices of the times, and how much better life is for at least some people now because we've stopped that.
I've got two more reviews in this vein to come: Gloria Steinem and Illeana Douglas. I'll tell you now, so you can skip the reviews and go straight to the books. They're both exactly this kind of thing: amusing and interesting tales of people doing what they enjoy. Best enjoyed with cocktails and cigarettes, even if one neither drinks nor smokes, it's just the right mood.
Library copy
May 22, 2022
John Cleese narrates his own book. Brill!
John Cleese yackety-yaks on and on about his early sketches but it’s so fascinating, and he’s so witty I found it all to be quite enjoyable. I also loved hearing about how he started in comedy and his account of growing up in England was really interesting. John Cleese is amazing and a very funny chap!
John Cleese yackety-yaks on and on about his early sketches but it’s so fascinating, and he’s so witty I found it all to be quite enjoyable. I also loved hearing about how he started in comedy and his account of growing up in England was really interesting. John Cleese is amazing and a very funny chap!
October 3, 2015
www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
I love reading memoirs, especially of different BBC actors I enjoy.
John Cleese did a great job of writing this book. Some of the books I have read just talk about their lives in film, plays, etc., but in this book JC actually writes about his childhood.
I would never have known he was bullied when he was younger. They thought he was a sissy, among other things. And he was tall at a very young age! At some point when he got a little older the bullying finally stopped when they found out he was pretty funny and one tussle with another kid ended it all.
This book had me cracking up! I soooooo wanted to add an excerpt from the book when he was young in school, but it was such a long one I didn't want to break it up to add it here. I mean it would have been my whole review! Basically it's about him being in class, looking over and seeing one of his classmates..um... doing things to his privates and another boy coming over to watch. I have to tell you that every day I'm worried about having a stroke or heart attack and after reading that and laughing so hard I thought I was going to blow a gasket on top of it all. The way he wrote it from his perspective is so funny, but I'm sure anyone that knows JC, can only imagine how funny that part was.
So the book goes on from when he was a young kid for a good bit and shows tons of pictures throughout the book from a baby to his years in plays and movies.
It is always cool learning things about people you see on tv, in my opinion anyway, and I had no idea he was a teacher and that he was going to be a lawyer before the BBC got hold of him. Just so many things we never know.
I think anyone that is a fan of John Cleese would find this book very interesting. I know I did.
*I would like to thank Blogging For Books for the print edition of this book in exchange for my honest review.*
I love reading memoirs, especially of different BBC actors I enjoy.
John Cleese did a great job of writing this book. Some of the books I have read just talk about their lives in film, plays, etc., but in this book JC actually writes about his childhood.
I would never have known he was bullied when he was younger. They thought he was a sissy, among other things. And he was tall at a very young age! At some point when he got a little older the bullying finally stopped when they found out he was pretty funny and one tussle with another kid ended it all.
This book had me cracking up! I soooooo wanted to add an excerpt from the book when he was young in school, but it was such a long one I didn't want to break it up to add it here. I mean it would have been my whole review! Basically it's about him being in class, looking over and seeing one of his classmates..um... doing things to his privates and another boy coming over to watch. I have to tell you that every day I'm worried about having a stroke or heart attack and after reading that and laughing so hard I thought I was going to blow a gasket on top of it all. The way he wrote it from his perspective is so funny, but I'm sure anyone that knows JC, can only imagine how funny that part was.
So the book goes on from when he was a young kid for a good bit and shows tons of pictures throughout the book from a baby to his years in plays and movies.
It is always cool learning things about people you see on tv, in my opinion anyway, and I had no idea he was a teacher and that he was going to be a lawyer before the BBC got hold of him. Just so many things we never know.
I think anyone that is a fan of John Cleese would find this book very interesting. I know I did.
*I would like to thank Blogging For Books for the print edition of this book in exchange for my honest review.*
January 30, 2019
Avant-Python.
Cleese's autobiography is charming and pithy with a few jabs, here and there. He really does start at the beginning and wends his way through to the advent of Monty Python. He gives his view of events and interactions that helped mould his writing and humor from blurry half-formed early memories, parental forces, school days' antics, university wing-stretching, to kissed-by-lady luck career start.
Blessings. Cleese is generous in his praise and his long-lived writing partnership with Graham Chapman is touching. Even the times when they're stupid with each other. Once. Maybe twice. Overall, a good feel for the craft and business of comedy.
I suppose the thing I enjoyed immensely about reading this was that it helped tie in some loose strands of knowledge. My brain tends to be a bit of a magpie and collect facts, often unconnected and just ties them on like a bright string on a empty branch; they don't have a reference, but they're stored. Then I come across something else that will match up with this odd fact, and like a jigsaw puzzle gets sewn into the existing structure of knowledge. So while reading this I'm going, hmmm.... David Frost, funny name not sure why Nixon is popping into my head. I actually wrote it off as the antics of Stone's arraignment during the week that tweaked it, but figured it was unrelated. Of course, had I actually watched Frost/Nixon I probably would have gotten there quicker, but 40 pages on there I was. Later, I was making my husband look at a picture and tell me if Marty Feldman was Igor in Wilder's Young Frankenstein. Huh. Then there was a whole Graham, St. Bartholomew's, Sherlock swerve and I just laughed because by this time I was getting distracted from reading as my mind went off on tangents.
So, anyway... yeah, this was a funny. Droll, understated at times, indignant very occasionally, and a window on what made Cleese who he is. Was. Will be.
*Buddy read with Ran*--thanks and sorry I slacked off.
Cleese's autobiography is charming and pithy with a few jabs, here and there. He really does start at the beginning and wends his way through to the advent of Monty Python. He gives his view of events and interactions that helped mould his writing and humor from blurry half-formed early memories, parental forces, school days' antics, university wing-stretching, to kissed-by-lady luck career start.
Blessings. Cleese is generous in his praise and his long-lived writing partnership with Graham Chapman is touching. Even the times when they're stupid with each other. Once. Maybe twice. Overall, a good feel for the craft and business of comedy.
I suppose the thing I enjoyed immensely about reading this was that it helped tie in some loose strands of knowledge. My brain tends to be a bit of a magpie and collect facts, often unconnected and just ties them on like a bright string on a empty branch; they don't have a reference, but they're stored. Then I come across something else that will match up with this odd fact, and like a jigsaw puzzle gets sewn into the existing structure of knowledge. So while reading this I'm going, hmmm.... David Frost, funny name not sure why Nixon is popping into my head. I actually wrote it off as the antics of Stone's arraignment during the week that tweaked it, but figured it was unrelated. Of course, had I actually watched Frost/Nixon I probably would have gotten there quicker, but 40 pages on there I was. Later, I was making my husband look at a picture and tell me if Marty Feldman was Igor in Wilder's Young Frankenstein. Huh. Then there was a whole Graham, St. Bartholomew's, Sherlock swerve and I just laughed because by this time I was getting distracted from reading as my mind went off on tangents.
So, anyway... yeah, this was a funny. Droll, understated at times, indignant very occasionally, and a window on what made Cleese who he is. Was. Will be.
*Buddy read with Ran*--thanks and sorry I slacked off.
December 18, 2017
I can only recommend the audio version of this book as Cleese narrates his life story and he's simply wonderful. Also there are sound bytes of various skits through the years that had me laughing out loud at my desk
October 26, 2014
Let me get this out of the way - I am a huge Python fan and will read or watch pretty much anything to do with them. I do, however, find Cleese to be a bit abrasive and sneery at times, so I was unsure as to whether or not I'd enjoy reading this book.
Well, I must say that I found myself pleasantly surprised. I love it when you can really hear an author's voice coming through the text, and this book makes you feel that Cleese is in the same room, reading it aloud to you.
True, for Python nerds such as myself, some of the stories are a bit over-familiar, but it's really nice to hear about his pre-Python days in more detail. I had no idea that he'd spent so much time in America. The only drawback I found was that some parts of the book (particularly those regarding his relationships with women, especially his mother) are perhaps slightly over-tinged with being recalled via the therapist's couch.
All in all though, a thoroughly enjoyable, insightful book. I really hope he writes more, as Palin's diaries begin around the time that this book ends, and I would be interested to read the same stories from two different perspectives - not just the difference between two writers, but also between the immediacy of a diary and the considered, reflective viewpoint of an autobiography.
Well, I must say that I found myself pleasantly surprised. I love it when you can really hear an author's voice coming through the text, and this book makes you feel that Cleese is in the same room, reading it aloud to you.
True, for Python nerds such as myself, some of the stories are a bit over-familiar, but it's really nice to hear about his pre-Python days in more detail. I had no idea that he'd spent so much time in America. The only drawback I found was that some parts of the book (particularly those regarding his relationships with women, especially his mother) are perhaps slightly over-tinged with being recalled via the therapist's couch.
All in all though, a thoroughly enjoyable, insightful book. I really hope he writes more, as Palin's diaries begin around the time that this book ends, and I would be interested to read the same stories from two different perspectives - not just the difference between two writers, but also between the immediacy of a diary and the considered, reflective viewpoint of an autobiography.
January 26, 2024
A happy autumn listen to one of the funniest humans. He's funny, smart, serious at the right times, and rather reasonable for one in his profession.
For all those hours watching Monty Python and anything else he was in, reading this was giving my nod to his brilliant genius in his field. That one, out there, in which he is standing.
4 grails (the kind with five points. . . .)
For all those hours watching Monty Python and anything else he was in, reading this was giving my nod to his brilliant genius in his field. That one, out there, in which he is standing.
4 grails (the kind with five points. . . .)
February 7, 2018
The narration to this book was *on point*, I laughed through the whole book. I figured I would like it since every time I've seen this guy in interviews he always seems well spoken and interesting.
I learned a TON about this guy, and he's unbelievably endearing. He talked about his childhood and it was just so... mature how he looked at his mother who was extremly difficult to live with because of SEVERE anxiety issues. He was really able to take a step back and see why she was the way she was, and see the good that lied underneath a rather turbulent exterior.
I also learned a bunch about British culture and history, which I don't know a ton about.
Cleese was apparently an elementary school teacher and prided himself on being fair. He would make his kids re-write words they spelled wrong to make sure that they got it right the next time, one time, he spelled something wrong himself and spelled it 100 times up on the blackboard in an effort of 'fairness'.
his father was goofy as fuck, and it's no wonder he ended up the way he was. One time his father took some chickens that were about to be slaughtered, they were half plucked, and he let them loose in a courtyard orchestra where the British elite gentleman/ladies were having a picnic outside listening to cultured music. He also got himself kicked out permanently from some hotels in India.
I learned a bit about the bombing of Britain during WW2, his fathers stories about WW1 and the horrors he witnessed.
This book was fascinating, well written, and superbly performed.
I learned a TON about this guy, and he's unbelievably endearing. He talked about his childhood and it was just so... mature how he looked at his mother who was extremly difficult to live with because of SEVERE anxiety issues. He was really able to take a step back and see why she was the way she was, and see the good that lied underneath a rather turbulent exterior.
I also learned a bunch about British culture and history, which I don't know a ton about.
Cleese was apparently an elementary school teacher and prided himself on being fair. He would make his kids re-write words they spelled wrong to make sure that they got it right the next time, one time, he spelled something wrong himself and spelled it 100 times up on the blackboard in an effort of 'fairness'.
his father was goofy as fuck, and it's no wonder he ended up the way he was. One time his father took some chickens that were about to be slaughtered, they were half plucked, and he let them loose in a courtyard orchestra where the British elite gentleman/ladies were having a picnic outside listening to cultured music. He also got himself kicked out permanently from some hotels in India.
I learned a bit about the bombing of Britain during WW2, his fathers stories about WW1 and the horrors he witnessed.
This book was fascinating, well written, and superbly performed.
April 6, 2019
I wish this could have gone on forever...
October 31, 2014
So Anyway... I bought this because I am (was) a fan of John Cleese. There is no doubting the man's comedic abilities and Fawlty Towers remains one of comedy's finest television programs but this... This... I failed to really get into it. I found it quite boring. That's not to say he hasn't worked hard or even had an interesting life - I just found the overall style with which he told it to be dull. I made it halfway through this book before giving up on it completely and giving it to someone else who may or may not enjoy it. To me it almost felt as though Cleese wasn't really interested in writing this and was - instead - more focused on the payday it would bring him.
If you want a funny, inspiring, amazing read - go with "Billy" by Billy Connolly and give this one a skip.
If you want a funny, inspiring, amazing read - go with "Billy" by Billy Connolly and give this one a skip.
May 6, 2015
So anyway, the first thing I ever saw John Cleese in was Fawlty Towers or A Fish Called Wanda. Can’t remember which, but there it is. I love MP though, and all that. It makes me laugh, Hell’s Grannies and all. A Fish Called Wanda is absolutely friggin awesome, and it’s a shame Fierce Creatures doesn’t get more respect.
So anyway, that is why my friend gave me this book for Christmas. Which is funny because I almost gave it to him? I ended up giving him Alan Cumming’s instead, something my friend almost gave me.
So anyway, this book is almost as good as the ice cream maker I also got. I mean orange ice cream with chocolate bits.
So Anyway is a good title for this book because Cleese goes off on tangents and digressions and plays though cabbage fields before he gets to the point, though sometimes there isn’t one. The reader’s reaction to this is either to laugh or to get frustrated. I went for laughter, but not everyone will. There are also a bit too many sketches reprinted word for word.
So anyway, Cleese worked with Charlotte Rae for bit. Charlotte Rae can you believe it? It’s amazing how incestuous these famous people are. Sellers, Blackadder, and what not. Cleese also is collections softy animals, and there is this thing that he and Chapman did with them once.
So anyway, it was PG rated, don’t worry. There is the story of Chapman’s coming out. The most interesting bits, however, are the pre-television and acting bits, like his time in college and teaching. The book ends, with the expectation of a coda, with the start of Python. There is a bit on it, and it could have benefited from a bit more detail about the development. It’s strange because it feels like he is holding a bit back in the television section.
So anyway, Pippa isn’t Pippa Middleton if you are wondering.
January 1, 2015
I expected to hate this one based on some of the reviews, but the bitterness -- which, let's face it, is a trait he's long been known for -- really is nowhere near as pervasive as some have made it sound. I think what is throwing some is that the book is almost exclusively about his childhood and university/very early career experiences, and he writes it not as a comedy book but as a serious memoir, so it's not going to read like a Python sketch.
He is, unsurprisingly, a wonderful writer, but in terms of developing a sense of reader investment, he is average. It's not a "Bossypants" (or even close), but it's also certainly not bad. It's a book you read once, get some interesting trivia bits from, and donate to the library booksale.
Don't buy this book if you want jokes. Do buy (or, probably much better, borrow) it if you're interested in legends looking back and being introspective.
He is, unsurprisingly, a wonderful writer, but in terms of developing a sense of reader investment, he is average. It's not a "Bossypants" (or even close), but it's also certainly not bad. It's a book you read once, get some interesting trivia bits from, and donate to the library booksale.
Don't buy this book if you want jokes. Do buy (or, probably much better, borrow) it if you're interested in legends looking back and being introspective.
December 9, 2021
Wonderfully funny, informative, and literate autobiography of the comic actor does a great job of supplying background on his days before Monty Python without going terribly deeply into detail about the mechanics of creating the famed Python comedies. It’s a fabulous reading experience that may leave your appetite whetted for a bit more.
August 8, 2024
So funny
January 10, 2015
I am not a fan of this latest trend of dividing a story up to make more money. It happens in the movies (the third Hunger Games book, one of those Twilight books, and three (!) movies out of The Hobbit) and now it is happening in publishing. Angelica Huston divided her life into two books and now John Cleese has done the same thing. One hopes he is writing a second, that is, because he ends this book just at the point of his life I wanted to read about. And the point everyone wants to read about. I mean, seriously, ending the book just as Monty Python starts?! He spent nearly 400 pages writing about before he became famous. And it's not like pre-fame he was discovering tombs in Egypt or scaling Mount Everest. He went to school, he taught, he had minor roles on stage and on tv. The end.
When he does write about the other Pythoners, you can tell he can't stand Terry Gillam or Terry Jones. Is it something about the word Terry? Who knows. He doesn't explain his antipathy. Oh, he does mention at the very, very end of the book that Jones always wanted his own way and wouldn't take no for answer. Nothing about Gillam. Just assorted passive digs at him throughout the book. Funny digs, to be sure. But no explanation. I find it very odd that Cleese spent pages and pages writing about various childhood teachers but the sum total of his writings about Eric Idle and Michael Palin might equal out to a paragraph. Cleese needs to understand and respect his buying public more.
I did enjoy his writing style. He is a funny man and can tell a story well. I just wish they had been stories and his Monty Python days and subsequent movies - not stories about his mother and headmaster and various un-famous friends.
When he does write about the other Pythoners, you can tell he can't stand Terry Gillam or Terry Jones. Is it something about the word Terry? Who knows. He doesn't explain his antipathy. Oh, he does mention at the very, very end of the book that Jones always wanted his own way and wouldn't take no for answer. Nothing about Gillam. Just assorted passive digs at him throughout the book. Funny digs, to be sure. But no explanation. I find it very odd that Cleese spent pages and pages writing about various childhood teachers but the sum total of his writings about Eric Idle and Michael Palin might equal out to a paragraph. Cleese needs to understand and respect his buying public more.
I did enjoy his writing style. He is a funny man and can tell a story well. I just wish they had been stories and his Monty Python days and subsequent movies - not stories about his mother and headmaster and various un-famous friends.
November 23, 2024
Title: So, Anyway...
Author: John Cleese
Narrator: John Cleese
Produced by: Oh, who could it possibly be? John Cleese.
If you ever wondered what it’s like to sit across from the legendary John Cleese, sipping tea while he recounts his life in that unmistakable British baritone with a smirk that you can somehow hear—this audiobook is it.
So, Anyway… is the epitome of British humor: dry, self-deprecating, and entirely unapologetic. Cleese takes us on a whirlwind tour of his early years, his accidental stumble into comedy, and, of course, the birth of Monty Python. Along the way, he sprinkles in biting wit, hilariously bizarre anecdotes, and the occasional existential musings that only a man who’s lived can deliver.
Listening to Cleese narrate his own story feels like an event. You catch every nuance, every pause, every knowing chuckle as if he’s letting you in on a joke he’s told a thousand times but still finds amusing. And oh, that dry humor—it’s so sharp it could cut through an overcooked steak at a mediocre British pub.
If you’re here for behind-the-scenes tales of Monty Python, you’ll get them, but don’t expect a traditional Hollywood-style expose. Cleese is more interested in recounting the strange, wonderful absurdity of life itself than spilling tea on his co-stars.
My advice? Clear your schedule, grab some biscuits (or cookies, if you’re across the pond), and buckle up for a masterclass in storytelling from a comedic genius. Whether you’re a die-hard Monty Python fan or just someone who appreciates well-crafted wit, So, Anyway… is a rollicking, laugh-out-loud delight.
10/10 would recommend, unless you have no sense of humor. In that case, you might want to find a guide to assembling Ikea furniture instead.
Author: John Cleese
Narrator: John Cleese
Produced by: Oh, who could it possibly be? John Cleese.
If you ever wondered what it’s like to sit across from the legendary John Cleese, sipping tea while he recounts his life in that unmistakable British baritone with a smirk that you can somehow hear—this audiobook is it.
So, Anyway… is the epitome of British humor: dry, self-deprecating, and entirely unapologetic. Cleese takes us on a whirlwind tour of his early years, his accidental stumble into comedy, and, of course, the birth of Monty Python. Along the way, he sprinkles in biting wit, hilariously bizarre anecdotes, and the occasional existential musings that only a man who’s lived can deliver.
Listening to Cleese narrate his own story feels like an event. You catch every nuance, every pause, every knowing chuckle as if he’s letting you in on a joke he’s told a thousand times but still finds amusing. And oh, that dry humor—it’s so sharp it could cut through an overcooked steak at a mediocre British pub.
If you’re here for behind-the-scenes tales of Monty Python, you’ll get them, but don’t expect a traditional Hollywood-style expose. Cleese is more interested in recounting the strange, wonderful absurdity of life itself than spilling tea on his co-stars.
My advice? Clear your schedule, grab some biscuits (or cookies, if you’re across the pond), and buckle up for a masterclass in storytelling from a comedic genius. Whether you’re a die-hard Monty Python fan or just someone who appreciates well-crafted wit, So, Anyway… is a rollicking, laugh-out-loud delight.
10/10 would recommend, unless you have no sense of humor. In that case, you might want to find a guide to assembling Ikea furniture instead.
June 19, 2015
I loved John Cleese’ writing style. I felt as though I was sat listening to him. I could virtually hear him reading out loud to me. I didn’t know a great deal about John Cleese before reading this- but thought he would be a really interesting character and love to discover autobiographies like this.
I liked the bit about his father going out to India after the war years and how this shaped his life.
Cleese was part of the real comedy years- along with lots of the comedy greats and it was lovely to read his account of working with some of the heroes of the time.
I would highly recommend this book to any John Cleese fan- or anyone who loves a great autobiography who has an interest in British comedy.
With many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.
I liked the bit about his father going out to India after the war years and how this shaped his life.
Cleese was part of the real comedy years- along with lots of the comedy greats and it was lovely to read his account of working with some of the heroes of the time.
I would highly recommend this book to any John Cleese fan- or anyone who loves a great autobiography who has an interest in British comedy.
With many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.
October 18, 2016
3.5 stars.
Look, to be perfectly honest? A huge part of that rating is that I didn't even read the blurb before I read this. And so it's entirely my own fault that I went in expecting a whole lot of stuff about Monty Python and got basically one chapter of Monty Python and a million chapters of NOT Monty Python.
So. Instead of dealing with Monty Python, this instead deals with Cleese's early life and his earliest exploits in television. It was laugh-out-loud funny at times, and I loved seeing how Cleese met and worked with various key figures in British television over the years, how he and Graham Chapman met and became one of the greatest comedy writing duos of the twentieth century.
Was it entirely what I was hoping for? No. Was it worth reading? Definitely.
Look, to be perfectly honest? A huge part of that rating is that I didn't even read the blurb before I read this. And so it's entirely my own fault that I went in expecting a whole lot of stuff about Monty Python and got basically one chapter of Monty Python and a million chapters of NOT Monty Python.
So. Instead of dealing with Monty Python, this instead deals with Cleese's early life and his earliest exploits in television. It was laugh-out-loud funny at times, and I loved seeing how Cleese met and worked with various key figures in British television over the years, how he and Graham Chapman met and became one of the greatest comedy writing duos of the twentieth century.
Was it entirely what I was hoping for? No. Was it worth reading? Definitely.
October 16, 2015
Though I am a John Cleese fan, I rarely watched Monty Python when it originally aired. (It was on at a bad time for me, as I recall.) Nonetheless, certain bits and bobs did make their way into my world, enough so that I occasionally find myself singing the lumberjack song, or chuckling about dead parrots. I was introduced to Fawlty Towers when it originally aired, and adored it-- so much so that we have the complete set (on VHS no less, and introduced our kids to it at a tender age.) What I liked about this book was some of the fill-in-the-gaps about John Cleese that occurred before, during, and around these productions (and A Fish Called Wanda). The beginning chapters about Cleese's boyhood and school days were particularly interesting to me. And while the latter part of the memoir has drawn criticism for running through various shows and projects, popping in bits of scripts here and there, I found it interesting, as I didn't know a lot of the British shows pre-Python, though the actors and personalities are known from other projects (David Frost, Peter Sellers, Marty Feldman etc.) Yes, there were times when I was less engaged than others, but there were enough delightful nuggets of information, and moments where Mr Cleese's ability as a writer of comedy caused me to laugh out loud, that I have come away happy. I hadn't realized how tightly kniy that group of writers and performers were or how far back they knew each other.
Having introduced our grandkids to Dr Who and Firefly, I think it's time to add British comedy to the mix, starting with some John Cleese projects.
Thank you to Blogging for Books and to the publisher for sending a copy of this book my way.
Having introduced our grandkids to Dr Who and Firefly, I think it's time to add British comedy to the mix, starting with some John Cleese projects.
Thank you to Blogging for Books and to the publisher for sending a copy of this book my way.
December 15, 2014
Considering that this book skips the years 1970-2013, I wonder whether a sequel is in the works. Still, I greatly enjoyed the insights into the craft of comedy, and it sent me to YouTube to look up "At Last the 1948 Show," "Do Not Adjust Your Set," the Goons, the Goodies, and many other comics & comedies I hadn't heard of before...
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