From the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin to the wonderful nanny in Mrs. Doubtfire, most everyone knows and enjoys the talents of the late actor and comedian Robin Williams. The comedic genius and the image we all saw and heard on the big screen may not have been the true Robin Williams. In Robin by Dave Itzkoff, we get to see the life of Williams and how he rose to success. Williams grew up in a well off family, but experienced many issues such as not having any friends due to moving constantly to not feeling like he belonged anywhere. Through many struggles of choosing a career and not disappointing his parents, Williams finally makes the discovery of his love of acting and improv comedy. Williams joins a multitude of groups for comedy and acting where he is first regarded as a force to be reckoned with. He goes to LA where his career starts to take off and soar. Though he was just starting to become successful and widely acclaimed for his unique comedy style, there were still many struggles. Williams fought heavily with alcoholism, drug addictions, and depression later in his life. Author Dave Itzkoff wants the world to see the struggles and the behind the scenes of a man “whose work touched so many lives” (Itzkoff Cover). Even though he made others joyful, inside was a different story of what he was truly fighting.He wants the audience to know the inner struggles of a man who seemed “‘wild, inventive, unpredictable’” (Itzkoff 105). Though Williams seemed very quick witted, he sometimes just told jokes “because he was angry . . . terrified” (Itzkoff 345). This technique of masking emotions leads to not many people truly knowing and understanding who Williams was. Though this book starts off very slow with a multitude of lengthy information about Williams' parents and not of Williams himself, the book eventually picks up speed later on when discussing his time away from his parents. The book does a fantastic job of showing this comedic icon as a human being with real struggles and addictions and his means of coping with them. It goes quite in-depth with what was considered normal during the different eras of his career, which provides even more background information on how factors influenced him. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to most everyone as it keeps the attention of the reader by using many of Williams’ jokes and remarks to add commentary to what is occurring with the use of accurate information of what actually happened. I would especially recommend this book to those who have been touched by the work of Robin Williams and would like to learn more about this late and great comedian/actor and to know what factors influenced and controlled him throughout his life and career.
Though he was just starting to become successful and widely acclaimed for his unique comedy style, there were still many struggles. Williams fought heavily with alcoholism, drug addictions, and depression later in his life. Author Dave Itzkoff wants the world to see the struggles and the behind the scenes of a man “whose work touched so many lives” (Itzkoff Cover). Even though he made others joyful, inside was a different story of what he was truly fighting.He wants the audience to know the inner struggles of a man who seemed “‘wild, inventive, unpredictable’” (Itzkoff 105). Though Williams seemed very quick witted, he sometimes just told jokes “because he was angry . . . terrified” (Itzkoff 345). This technique of masking emotions leads to not many people truly knowing and understanding who Williams was.
Though this book starts off very slow with a multitude of lengthy information about Williams' parents and not of Williams himself, the book eventually picks up speed later on when discussing his time away from his parents. The book does a fantastic job of showing this comedic icon as a human being with real struggles and addictions and his means of coping with them. It goes quite in-depth with what was considered normal during the different eras of his career, which provides even more background information on how factors influenced him. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to most everyone as it keeps the attention of the reader by using many of Williams’ jokes and remarks to add commentary to what is occurring with the use of accurate information of what actually happened. I would especially recommend this book to those who have been touched by the work of Robin Williams and would like to learn more about this late and great comedian/actor and to know what factors influenced and controlled him throughout his life and career.