Customer Rating: 

This isn't a biography. I like Mark Kermode's film writing, and have previously enjoyed hearing him reviewing and discussing films on the TV and the radio, but I found this book incredibly frustrating, even annoying. Instead of a traditional biography the book is, in some ways, a series of anecdotes along the lines of "the time I met Linda Blair", "the time I went to Russia to see a horror movie being made", "the time I saw Werner Herzog get shot" and so on. He also has a tendency to exaggerate and fictionalise events, so there is one scene where he describes a music video being shot in the desert and a fan is turned up too high, resulting in the drummer being blown off the stage, after which he basically says "but that didn't really happen."

Kermode comes across as being fairly obnoxious through most of the book, certainly rather arrogant, and there are a number of sections where I found myself thinking "but you wouldn't *do* that!" (e.g. in the Russia chapter, where he is due to go to Odessa to see a film being made but instead goes to Moscow as he thinks it will be nearby, then finds out just how far away Odessa is after he has arrived.) It's a rare thing, to read a memoir by someone you quite like but by the end of it discover your feelings have switched to the opposite view.

Did I find it funny? No - not at all. It's a frustrating book which could - and should - have been so much better. If he'd written it straight rather than opting for this approach it would have been much more enjoyable.

Customer Rating: 

Although the book can be recommended as a very enjoyable read if you know what you're getting, what's probably important to tell the potential reader is what it's not.

Although written in a chronological way through Kermode's career in film writing, the book isn't really a biography, for example there's no insight into Kermode's musical side-lines, even the time he lead the house band on Danny Baker's short lived BBC late night chat show. Equally the book isn't really about films per se, so there's no serious critiques (as Kermode would do on the Culture Show), likewise no flippant "best of" lists etc.

What the book is, is an extended riff on Kermode's personal anecdotes from the Mayo/Kermode 5Live shows and podcasts. It's pretty much how you'd imagine the Kermode monologues would go on the radio show if there was no time pressure to do another review or a need to break for the news and travel. As such, many of the stories are familiar but longer in their written versions: in musical terms, you're getting the extended remixes of the singles you've already heard.

So, if you are a fan of the Kermode podcasts, you'll probably lap this up (and you can add another star to the review score). If you are looking for more depth about films and the film buisness, maybe that'll be the next book.

Customer Rating: 

This product was bought as a present for my son and he thinks it's a good book i my borrow it to take on holiday

Customer Rating: 

I bought this for my partner's birthday and he thinks it's fantastic. Obviously he listens avidly to Mr Kermode's opinions on movies whenever he can so he's interested to start with, but he has not put it down and that is the sign of a good read, especially from someone regularly with 12 books from the library that he barely glimpses!!!
I've been allowed to dip into it here and there and am waiting patiently for the chance to read it properly - maybe when he's asleep???
Great writing Mark - please write some more to tempt the man into more reading!!!!

Customer Rating: 

Entertaining enough but nothing that you haven't already heard if you're a regular listener to Mark's reviews.