Review: More Fool Me by Stephen Fry

I received a copy of More Fool Me when I attended a promotional talk by Stephen Fry in early September. I've read a few of his novels, (Making History, most notably) but this is my first of his autobiographies, despite owning both the two previos works, Moab Is My Washpot and The Fry Chronicles. The problem is, it's very hard to review a book of which the author has stood in front of you, pointed out the flaws and swiftly defended against every single one of them.

Plot summary: In his early thirties, Stephen Fry - writer, comedian, star of stage and screen - had, as they say, 'made it'. Much loved in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster, author of a critically acclaimed and bestselling first novel, The Liar, with a glamorous and glittering cast of friends, he had more work than was perhaps good for him. What could possibly go wrong?

Then, as the 80s drew to a close, he discovered a most enjoyable way to burn the candle at both ends, and took to excess like a duck to breadcrumbs. Writing and recording by day, and haunting a never ending series of celebrity parties, drinking dens, and poker games by night, in a ludicrous and impressive act of bravado, he fooled all those except the very closest to him, some of whom were most enjoyably engaged in the same dance.

He was - to all intents and purposes - a high functioning addict. Blazing brightly and partying wildly as the 80s turned to the 90s, AIDS became an epidemic and politics turned really nasty, he was so busy, so distracted by the high life, that he could hardly see the inevitable, headlong tumble that must surely follow . . .

So, yes, he has written three biographies and he can't possibly have that much to say about himself. Yes, it is setting a bad example to write about drugs and their influence. Yes, he has written it completely for himself and not for anybody else. So, uh... there's not much to say, really. Thanks Stephen.

Except that it starts with 67 pages of recapping the other two books. He keeps almost laughing at himself for doing it, but is it really necessary? If you like Stephen Fry enough to buy this book, you've probably either read them already or know enough to be able to pick up the gist if he just started talking. It's weird - thorough but vague at the same time. It's a basically just a list of everything he's done to date, but not a quick or a lively one.

It was a huge effort not to skim as I just couldn't click with the bland style of the recap. Maybe he was just trying to whip through it in order to get to 'the good stuff,' but then again 67 pages is hardly whipping anything. He says 'Oh, I'd just skip this if I were you,' but yes. You actually should.

When the actual book started, I did end up getting into it. It's basically just a collection of anecdotes, loosely crammed under a 'drugs' heading (but not really). The thing is, I then ended up getting back out of it again. After about two thirds of the way through, it just turns into Stephen Fry's diary from 1993, which he swears is genuine... and then it ends. That's it.

It's weird. I just don't understand the point. His diary is just a list of what he did that day, how much he wrote and who he was with. Frankly, it's boring. I don't understand who half the people are or what the abbreviations mean... why write half a book and then shove a few months of your diary in!?

I was expecting a slightly rambling, casual look at Stephen Fry's drug use - what prompted him to begin, his life whilst using and then eventually what prompted him to stop. Except not. The latter isn't even mentioned. Other than declaring drug use to be a silly habit that he regrets, it doesn't tell us anything about how, why or when he stopped and for me, that was the most interesting part. 

The problem is, it's Stephen Fry. He's obviously talented, clever and very witty, and so the good parts of More Fool Me are very good. It made me snuffle with amusement a few times as he perfectly captured the essence of Hugh Laurie and Rowan Atkinson (or so I'd imagine - they hardly ever return my postcards, you know) and there's a very moving chapter about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

   We all arose early the next morning. Why I didn't photograph Hugh Laurie hoovering the drawing-room carpet I have no idea. It would be worth millions in black-mail money today. Ah well.*

*I was wise enough to run the manuscript of this book by Hugh to check for accuracy. I am sometimes accused of a good memory, but it is only good for useless things. Hugh's is both compendious and useful. I quote his response ro the paragraph above: '... not that it matters, but it was definitely Rowan who did the hoovering. I also distinctly remember him driving to the petrol station - the only place open on New Year's Day - and coming back with fig rolls, for God's sake.'

But, as I said at the beginning, Mr. Fry neatly dispelled all possible issues with it during the talk I attended - he wrote this for himself. Which is fair enough - I wish I were well-regarded enough to hash out a novel just to make myself feel better. Unfortunately, it shows. I could have dealt with the 67 pages of recap if it weren't for the third-long diary section, as the two combined render the actual book very short indeed. I just don't understand what it was trying to do or what the point of publishing the diary was.

I know it doesn't show through here, but I like Stephen Fry. He seemed approachable, genuine and likeable throughout his talk and I find him amusing on television. It's just the book I have a problem with. His anecdotes are interesting and his wit shines through on occasion, but unfortunately More Fool Me is just too cobbled-together and weird for me to recommend it.

Read my review of Stephen Fry's novel, Making History. 

Review: Orange is the New Black: My Time in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

Before I even start writing this review, let me just mention here that my day-job very heavily revolves around this area. I rehabilitate those released from prison who may need assistance with relearning how to function in society. I don't think it's affected this review but I'm not usually one for keeping my opinions to myself...

Plot summary: With her career, live-in boyfriend and loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the rebellious young woman who got mixed up with drug runners and delivered a suitcase of drug money to Europe over a decade ago. But when she least expects it, her reckless past catches up with her; convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at an infamous women's prison in Connecticut, Piper becomes inmate #11187-424. From her first strip search to her final release, she learns to navigate this strange world with its arbitrary rules and codes, its unpredictable, even dangerous relationships. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with tokens of generosity, hard truths and simple acts of acceptance.

This isn't fiction, as I know many people have been led to believe. Instead it's the true story of a middle-class, middle-aged white woman who was sent to a women's prison for an offence she had committed ten years previously. Piper is American and therefore goes through the U.S. Criminal Justice System - it would be interesting to hear a similar story from a British woman, although that's slightly off-topic.

The theme of the book seems to be 'hey, look how petty and badly organised prison is.' She's given underwear that isn't clean, the prison store is out of handheld radios and has to cobble together quesadillas in the dormitory microwave because she doesn't like the canteen food. The thing is, for me she missed the mark because she actually made it sound kind of... fun and I'm 100% positive that wasn't her plan.

I did feel for Piper in the beginning. She was so bewildered at what was happening to her and why it was taking so long to go through the system, but then that bewilderment seemed to persist throughout her entire stay. She has a constant air of mild confusion about how she could possibly be in prison but then tries so damn hard to not say it, bless her. It's like she wants a sticker for being a Trooper. Thing is... you know, she did break the law. Without going into the morality of her crime and the concept of proportionate sentencing, it doesn't seem overly unreasonable that she went to prison for a crime she knowingly and willingly committed.

At least Piper says this herself. There's just something there that stops me from quite believing her. She doesn't actually annoy me (which is odd), but it did prevent me from taking Orange is the New Black seriously. I just wanted to pat her on the head - of course you think prison is unfair and badly organised. You were in it. You're not meant to like it. 

I do respect her a little for mentioning how much luckier she was than some of the other inmates. She received books from the outside, had visitors every weekend and was generally treated better by the guards for being white and respectable (she believes). She at least acknowledges that her time there wasn't as bad as it could have been and there were many others in much worse situations. 

I had only the most tenuous idea of what might happen next, but I knew that I would have to be brave. Not foolhardy, not in love with risk and danger, not making ridiculous exhibitions of myself to prove that I wasn't terrified - really, genuinely brave. Brave enough to be quiet when quiet was called for, brave enough to observe before flinging myself into something, brave enough to not abandon my true self when someone else wanted to seduce or force me in a direction I didn't want to go, brave enough to stand my ground quietly. I waited an unquantifiable amount of time while trying to be brave.

However, I do object to the final chapter. It's set out as a factual analysis of everything that's wrong with the prison system, but it's actually just a rant. She believes the system doesn't work and that's absolutely fair enough, but she needs to explain why in an objective manner. She doesn't explain why the prison system is badly run and ineffective, just kind of bleats that it is. This is a light-hearted memoir that has produced an equally light-hearted TV series - you can't shove a monologue at the end and expect to change the world. 

The ending itself is kind of anti-climactic. The story doesn't go past her stepping out of the prison gates, when I wanted to know more about her reentering society and her relationship. She spent a lot of time discussing whether prison gives inmates the skills they need to find employment or just successfully function as a free person, but then doesn't explain her own experiences. It may just be because Piper had a short sentence and an excellent support system (a friend had a job already lined up for her) but it still could have been interesting.

I think this review might come across as negative when actually I did enjoy Orange is the New Black. Piper is a little uppity and preachy, but it's bearable. It's an enjoyable and accessible memoir about a minimum security women's prison; just take her social commentary with a pinch of salt.

Read other reviews of Orange is the New Black at Devouring Texts and Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Review: Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

 

From Amazon - 'In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher tells the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Wars when only 19 years old. "But it isn't all sweetness and light sabres." Alas, aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mother (not to mention the hyperspace hairdo), Carrie also spends her free time battling addiction and weathering the wild ride of manic depression. It's an incredible tale - from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, and from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.'

First off, I am not a celebrity autobiography reader. I'd rather be bashed on the head with a book about Katie Price than actually have to read it. However, Carrie Fisher is a whole different class of celebrity than those pop star wannabes who hash out a 'memoir' by the time they've reached the grand old age twenty-two. She's a cult icon with genuine mental health and addiction problems. Why wouldn't you want to read her autobiography?

The reason I don't usually enjoy autobiographies is because I'm pretty much only interested in whatever made that person famous, as are most of the other readers. Despite this, I'll still be subjected to a long diatribe on their childhood pet, playground experiences and relationship with their mother. Ms. Fisher's book is nothing like that. While she does mention her mother, that mother is Debbie Reynolds and so provides anecdotes that only a beautiful, movie-star mother can. The book isn't bogged down with names and dates à la most autobiographies either - it actually feels like Carrie Fisher herself has sat down opposite you and told you a little about herself.

Because that's all it is - a little. Due to ECT (electric shock) therapy and the intake of a huge amount of drugs, her memory is shot. She freely admits that there are huge chunks of her life missing, but here she's attempted to scribble down what she does remember. It's a very short book; I read it in a few hours and it's massively padded out with photos, but it works. It's long enough to provide an insight into the life of Ms Fisher, but not long enough for me to get bored and wander off like many other biographies.

'I'm a PEZ dispenser. True story. Which not only has really made my life great, but it's enhanced the lives of everyone I run into. If you can get someone to make you into a PEZ dispenser, do it. And my daughter loves it because like I told you, she's a teenager, and they love to humiliate the parent for sport, so all she has to do is flip my head back and pull a wafer out of my neck.' 

I'd never have thought she was so funny. There were parts where I was laughing out loud from her dry sarcasm and wit. She's very self-deprecating about her mental health issues, which she discusses in a way that implies she understands they're serious but isn't going to cry over it. I respect her all the more for fighting the stigma of mental illness and explaining a little of how it feels.

It's not as Star Wars-y as you'd expect. Or as I did anyway - but I barely knew anything about her but that and a vague idea that she was an alcoholic. There are dozens of books about the films already though, so I suppose she didn't really feel the need to rehash what's already been said. There are a few interesting tidbits scattered around however- like it was Harrison Ford's pot that finally tipped her over the edge and Christopher Walken was originally set to play Han Solo!

'Anyway, during one of the takes, Mark was so intent on making his strangulation look realistic that he ended up bursting a blood vessel in his eye, which in turn left this bright red dot. So, the following day we shot our next scene - which happened to be the last scene in the movie. You know, the one where I give out all the medals? Mark had to grin like a motherfucker in that scene in order to conceal his red dot. Because, ultimately, who's going to give a medal to someone with a big, stupid red dot in their eye? I don't care how much force is with him.'

I can't wait for her new book, Shockaholic, that's coming out at the end of the year and I might give a few of her novels a go too.