
On the one hand, I was obviously unfamiliar with the variety of English accents and it took me some time to mentally process some of them.

When I first visited London, I was constantly having people repeat themselves when talking to me. And then the funny stuff added 1 more star.

The fact that Stephen Fry basically attended Hogwarts twice (elementary school AND university), earned it yet another star. Luckily for the author, his reading/acting voice makes everything so much better, which is what earned the book at least 1.5 stars. As terrible as it may sound, I was dreadfully bored throughout most of the experience. Had I tried to read this book, as opposed to listening to it, there's a high possibility I would've dropped it half-way through. And that's about the main reason for the high rating of this book. Because when he does, you are damn well getting a show. If there is ever someone who can make me " swoon" by reading the phone book, it's Stephen Fry. Welcome to "The Fry Chronicles," one of the boldest, bravest, most revealing and heartfelt accounts of a man's formative years that you will ever have the exquisite pleasure of reading. Shameful tales of sugar, shag and champagne jostle with insights into credit cards, classic cars, and conspicuous consumption, "Blackadder," Broadway and the BBC.įor all its trademark wit and verbal brilliance, this is a book that is not afraid to confront the aching chasm that separates public image from private feeling. This is the intriguing, hilarious and utterly compelling story of how the Stephen the nation knows (or thinks it knows) began to make his presence felt as he took his first tentative steps in the worlds of television, journalism, radio, theatre and film. He met and befriended bright young things like Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie and (after working out how to cheat the university examination system) emerged as one of the most promising comic talents in the country. Instead, university life offered him love, romance, and the chance to stand on a stage and entertain. Stephen Fry arrived at Cambridge on probation: a convicted fraudster and thief, an addict, liar, fantasist and failed suicide, convinced that at any moment he would be found out and flung away.
