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12+ oeuvres 207 utilisateurs 3 critiques

Œuvres de Paul Merton

Oeuvres associées

"Have I Got News for You?": The Shameless Cash-in Book (1994) — Auteur — 64 exemplaires

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Date de naissance
1957-07-09
Sexe
male
Nationalité
UK

Membres

Critiques

Paul Merton has always come across as a down-to-earth, likeable chap, and there's nothing in this memoir suggest otherwise. In his writing he is genuine and he clearly communicates his lifelong passion for comedy. A working class boy who worked hard, was lucky, and succeeded. One of the good guys. I really enjoyed this book.
 
Signalé
LGKerr | May 24, 2015 |
This is obviously a spoof, but since I'm such a huge Paul Merton fan I did kind of enjoy it.
Still, unless you're of like mind, you' d better skip this!
½
 
Signalé
shireling | 1 autre critique | Feb 26, 2011 |
As his much more recent book and accompanying television series on the heroes of silent comedy show Paul Merton has a real interest in the earlier forms of comedy and this book is no different in what is a spoof fictionalised 'autobiographical' account of an East End music hall performer.

Born to parents, the music hall act Bert and Mary (the Marvellettes) a water stirrer and a cough check girl who surprised a lot of people by marrying very quickly 'the ceremony lasted only eleven seconds', Paul was quite literally shot into fame via a vintage cannon, a rubberised nappy, an overhead smash that would have graced the centre court at Wimbledon and the safe hands of King George V. Baby Paul's early days in Hollywood involved acting in Western's before he could talk and throwing his rattle in a fight with a Sioux Indian. He returns to England in acrimony and life begins a series of ups and downs, entertaining the Germans during the second world war, radio comedy with Peter Sellers, game shows and children's entertainment alongside his faithful hippopotamus. There are of course several murders, a friendship with Prince Charles and a defining relationship with an agent with whom he communicates through the second-hand fridge section of the newspaper 'Dalton's Weekly'.

The jokes start, of course, with the title which needs translation into German for its effect. The book is a very nineties and a very English phenomenon so be prepared for some Bruce Forthsyth and Max Bygraves jokes. It is thoroughly sarcastic and incredibly tongue in cheek it has also not aged well. There are some passages which made me laugh aloud but as the book goes on you get the feeling that he ran out of enthusiasm with the project and the narrative begins to meander. I am a fan of Paul Merton and his rather unique sense of humor and so have a soft spot for this book but I can't actually contend that it's any good.

I love it despite all its faults:

2/5
http://paolosinterweblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-struggle-by-paul-merton.html
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
phollando | 1 autre critique | Mar 3, 2010 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
12
Aussi par
1
Membres
207
Popularité
#106,920
Évaluation
3.2
Critiques
3
ISBN
15

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