I'll Just Move The Microphone Stand So You Can See Me
Amongst my ever growing list of new year's resolutions is to read a lot more. Mainly to read more novels, although I tend to favour biographies and autobiographies. I prefer real life stories to fiction. For Christmas, my parents bought me Jo Brand's autobiography Look Back in Hunger. The gift was a humorous reference to the fact that Steve Bennett of Chortle.co.uk had said in his review of the Chortle Student Comedy Award Final 2008 that I ' could be the male Jo Brand'. I respect Steve's opinion on comedy greatly and the remainder of his comments about my act were reasonable and fair. However, I was stung by the comparison and remember walking around Edinburgh seething over it for the rest of the day.
As may have already become apparent, I do not like Jo Brand and felt that being compared to her in 2008 was a pretty negative thing. Her stand up is a triumph of personality over writing talent. She certainly has no problem making her presence felt, but she has nothing of any interest to say and her jokes are old and tired. Her last appearance on Live At The Apollo was particularly poor. But I am interested in all things comedy and so thought the book might offer an interesting insight into her early days and into the alternative comedy scene.
Disappointingly (and oddly), the book dedicates only two chapters to Brand's comedy career. In the introductory chapter, she gives a feel for the life of the touring comedian and refers to some of the more harsh abuse she received from audiences. I would like to have seen her to go into this topic in more detail. Brand undoubtedly has a unique perspective and hearing her view on being one of the primary female figures in a male dominated business would have been interesting.
Instead however she dives into the story of her childhood and rebellious teenage years before going on to discuss her time as a psychiatric nurse. The book ends with Brand giving up her nursing job having been asked to perform on the Channel 4 entertainment show Saturday Live. Thus the conclusion comes where I would have preferred the book to start. First chapter aside, the first mention of her wanting to be a comedian comes on page 199 and any love of humour she may have isn't reflected in the retelling of her childhood. What follows is a not hugely interesting account of a rebellious teenager living with inappropriate boyfriends and dealing with pervy men.
On the other hand, Brand's stories from working with those with mental health problems is genuinely fascinating. It must a tremendously difficult profession to work in. Presumably having worked with a number of particularly unstable and violent patients, the audiences at the Comedy Store and Jongleurs are a piece of piss. The photos in the book are also notable, mainly because Brand looks to have been quite pretty in her youth. As an ardent feminist, I'm sure she'd not thank me for saying so. Overall, Look Back In Hunger is a half decent memoir but hardly a must for comedy afficionados. I look forward to handing it back to my parents for them to read. Incidently, they were delighted by the comparison when they read the review and were confused by my annoyance. As is so often the case, they just don't understand.
As may have already become apparent, I do not like Jo Brand and felt that being compared to her in 2008 was a pretty negative thing. Her stand up is a triumph of personality over writing talent. She certainly has no problem making her presence felt, but she has nothing of any interest to say and her jokes are old and tired. Her last appearance on Live At The Apollo was particularly poor. But I am interested in all things comedy and so thought the book might offer an interesting insight into her early days and into the alternative comedy scene.
Disappointingly (and oddly), the book dedicates only two chapters to Brand's comedy career. In the introductory chapter, she gives a feel for the life of the touring comedian and refers to some of the more harsh abuse she received from audiences. I would like to have seen her to go into this topic in more detail. Brand undoubtedly has a unique perspective and hearing her view on being one of the primary female figures in a male dominated business would have been interesting.
Instead however she dives into the story of her childhood and rebellious teenage years before going on to discuss her time as a psychiatric nurse. The book ends with Brand giving up her nursing job having been asked to perform on the Channel 4 entertainment show Saturday Live. Thus the conclusion comes where I would have preferred the book to start. First chapter aside, the first mention of her wanting to be a comedian comes on page 199 and any love of humour she may have isn't reflected in the retelling of her childhood. What follows is a not hugely interesting account of a rebellious teenager living with inappropriate boyfriends and dealing with pervy men.
On the other hand, Brand's stories from working with those with mental health problems is genuinely fascinating. It must a tremendously difficult profession to work in. Presumably having worked with a number of particularly unstable and violent patients, the audiences at the Comedy Store and Jongleurs are a piece of piss. The photos in the book are also notable, mainly because Brand looks to have been quite pretty in her youth. As an ardent feminist, I'm sure she'd not thank me for saying so. Overall, Look Back In Hunger is a half decent memoir but hardly a must for comedy afficionados. I look forward to handing it back to my parents for them to read. Incidently, they were delighted by the comparison when they read the review and were confused by my annoyance. As is so often the case, they just don't understand.
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