Introduction:

I must start this review by saying that up until about 6 months ago I didn't like Michael McIntyre. At all. Loathed him in fact as I found him just *too* annoying.

Fast forward to the beginning of the new series of Britain's Got Talent airing and on discovering that McIntyre was due to be one of the new judges I can honestly say I was disappointed. Once I saw a few episodes of BGT however, I found myself warming to him. Liking him. Finding him VERY funny indeed to the point where I hunted down both of his DVDs to watch and I found myself literally creased with laughter and wondered why I didn't like him before this.. Because of this I wanted to learn more about this incredibly funny man and as I had a family holiday coming up what better way than to read his self penned autobiography?

Synopsis~

The book itself starts off in an introductory manner of McIntyre describing how is trying to get into the writing mood by moving his desk and computer around the room for inspiration. This may not sound very exciting I know, but if you are a fan of the man himself you will know that his comedy style is one of animation which incorporates everyday life resulting in side splitting funny comments, and this is demonstrated equally as well in his writing style as it when he is performing on stage.

The book itself is an autobiography so is written in a very personal and incredibly funny manner. We start off (once Michael has found a comfortable position in his house for actually penning this) with learning about his early life in private nursery and subsequently private schools which were funded by his wealthy Grandmother to whom he was close to whilst growing up. The relationship between his mother and father, and later their respective partners features strongly, and also the book focuses heavily on his bond with his sister who he speaks fondly of throughout - all of this delivered in his funny and distinctive comedic way.

After we have become familiar with the 'characters' who featured heavily in young Michael's life we move on to the usual teenage strops, hear how he attempted (and failed) to attract the opposite sex, and finally discovering that he was very good at making people laugh and deciding to conquer the world of comedy.

The book moves on from his growing up and chronicles his crusade to finally crack the comedy world and become taken seriously as a successful stand up..

My thoughts on the book~

As mentioned I really wasn't a fan of Michael McIntyre until recently and neither was my husband. Whilst we both enjoy watching stand up comedians performing we never took to McIntyre and turned the TV over whenever he appeared. Whilst reading his struggle to become famous this was reflected heavily in his writing about the disappointment and constant knock backs that he was dealt as he wasn't a *regular comedian* who just told jokes, and I have to admit to feeling ever so slightly guilty that I too had judged him in this way by not giving him the chance whilst on TV.

I really didn't know what to expect with this book as I don't often read autobiographies as I much prefer 'frothy chick lit' books that I can just unwind and not take too seriously with. This however had me hooked from the first few pages and there wasn't one single chapter - or even paragraph - that I found dull or lacked appeal.

On starting to read I found the first few pages a little bit difficult to get into as Michael jumps from one thing to another and I feared I may not be able to get into it properly. I needn't have worried though, as soon as I realised he was writing in the same style that he performs in I found the book became a breeze and before I knew it I was half way through on the first night of starting it. What made it more appealing also was the sporadic family photographs that were dotted throughout the book, this made McIntyre's descriptions come alive and it was lovely to put faces to names that he had talked so enthusiastically about.

The book flows easily throughout it's 25 chapters and at just 367 pages long I found it to be the perfect length though must confess to being disappointed once I had read the last page. I found Michael's writing style to be fluid and each sentenced just flowed making it a very easy and enjoyable read.
Though this is written by the 'king of comedy' the book is not all fun, laughter and frolics and there are fragments that are very sad and genuinely heartfelt, especially the way in which he talks about his late father and the book brought tears to my eyes on a few occasions as you could sense the rawness in his words.

The book, for the foremost though, is incredibly funny and very light hearted and I not only thoroughly enjoyed it from cover to cover but on many nights I was heard laughing out very loudly by my husband as it was just so comical in parts that it had him wondering what on earth was making me giggle so much. He has since started to read it and has remarked at how good it is and how much he too is enjoying it.

So would I recommend this then? I think you know the answer to this already after reading this as I really haven't got anything negative to say about it. Okay the first few pages had me worried but once I got into the writing style of the book I found it difficult to put down and genuinely felt sad when I got to the end to the point where I will definitely be reading it again in the near future.


Highly, highly recommended by me and even if you are not a huge fan of the man himself it's worth a read as it is such a good book and may make you look at him differently afterwards when learning of his struggle to 'make it'.

Fantastic and hugely entertaining.

£7.99 (I paid just £2.95 inclusive of p&p from ebay for a brand new copy so do look there first)

(ISBN 978-0-141-04567-2)