Goodbye Soldier - Spike Milligan

Advantages: A biased account of the life of this Irish comic genius and lunatic!
Disadvantages: Perhaps too revealing and not to everyone's taste.

...throughout the book and the reader is left wondering if he is being deliberately uncharitable or not telling us something he alone has discovered about Milligan's life. Carpenter leaves us with the distinct impression that Milligan pulled a sicky whenever the going got tough. He even raises concerns about the veracity of Milligan's war memoirs on this subject and that opens another can of worms. For those of you who don't know or might need reminding, Spike Milligan wrote a series of 7 books about his war memoirs and the early post war years. They are: Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall 'Rommel?' 'Gunner Who?' Monty: My Part in his Victory Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall Where Have All the Bullets Gone? Goodbye Soldier Peacework Milligan was a highly eccentric comic and anyone with this knowledge would approach his wartime memoirs... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Good for those interested in Milligan
Disadvantages: Not for the casual reader

...The biographer as protagonist? I had read reviews claiming Humphrey Carpenter’s style was too intrusive in this biography of the late Goon Spike Milligan and I can see where that came from. I do not feel a biography of a comedian should be funny, at least there will be bits where you appreciate the subject’s comic genius but there is no need for the biographer to quip and jest and join in the fun. However shortly after I finished reading this Humphrey Carpenter gave up the ghost so I will not criticise him any further. To be fair he had written a number of very good biographies, the ones about Auden, Britten and Tolkien probably being the best I have read. So, to Spike’s biography. Spike Milligan achieved fame for his work with “The Goons” a pioneering team (Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and briefly Michael Bentine) on radio who... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Written by a comedic genius with some very funny lines
Disadvantages: Some not so funny lines

...Spike Milligan has written a series of books giving his "version" of classic tales. In "Robin Hood According To Spike Milligan" he transports us back to the England of bad Prince John. Although at first he sticks quite closely to the original story of Robin and his Merry Men there are some vital differences. Maid Marion turns out to be a pole vaulter, Little John is now known as Big Dick, and somehow Groucho Marx ends up in Sherwood Forest as well. There are some extremely funny lines demonstrating that surreal humour that Spike developed in the Goons back in the fifties. For instance there is an emphasis on jam sandwiches and porridge as well as bows and arrows. However, sometimes you feel the story lagging and Spike working hard to try and make it funny. Some of the jokes are just off-colour and not worthy of the man who created Eccles... Read review

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