Rating: 4/5
Review:
...he's a very naughty boy!
I enjoyed Monty Python Speaks. It gives a chronological account of
Python from its birth through interview extracts with all six male
Pythons, Carol Cleveland and others involved in the production. It’s
not especially funny, but it’s interesting and entertaining.
I should probably
say that I was about 15 when Python began on TV and was soon a
devotee, so I have more interest in this than some other people may.
I enjoyed reading about the group dynamics, the details of the
writing process and the films – especially Life Of Brian. I could
perhaps have done without such detailed chronicling of the exact
nature of the funding and release of different programmes and films
in the USA, but I suppose it’s good to have these things on record
– and one can always resort to skimming.
I’m not sure I
learned much that was really new, but I’m glad to have a fuller
picture of the characters involved and the key events – the frank
discussion of Graham Chapman’s alcoholism and his contribution to
the group was especially interesting to me, for instance.
This is a good book
to dip into, and I often found myself reading more at a sitting than
I expected to, which is a good sign. Recommended.
(My thanks to Fourth
Estate for an ARC via NetGalley.)
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