At the end of last year, whilst looking for Christmas presents for my horde of family, I kept noticing the Peter Kay autobiography. It was a massive £18.99, so I put it on my own Christmas List, but to honest, didn’t expect to get it in my stocking. On Christmas Day, I wasn’t disappointed, as I didn’t get it. I bought mine in a supermarket at half price in March, and I felt it was a real bargain for a hard back book with such good quality pages.
I think that Peter Kay is someone you love or loathe. I am the former, and watching his live shows, has me crying with laughter, even when I have seen it before, and know what is coming. I also like Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, although I really can’t get into Phoenix Nights.
I have a fairly female family, and most are obsessed with The Sound of Music, so the cover of the book made me smile with a picture taken from the scene The Hills Are Alive, but with
Peter’s head stuck on in the place of Julie Andrews. Peter knows what will catch the eye on the shelf.
He also knows what will keep his fans happy while reading his book. Peter is an ‘old style’ comedian, of the genre pre ‘alternative’, in my opinion. His live act is something that you can watch with your aged relatives, and with small children. There are innuendos but on the whole, it is funny without being snide or sneering. He is a people watcher, and not only does he watch, but he can re-enact the language, the body movements, and the facial expressions to a tee. None of this is offensive, however. He was brought up to respect people, and coming from a large extended family, and a strict Catholic background, his ultimately very kind nature comes through each page. There is a more serious side to Peter, and he shows this with his view of Catholicism, and how he now views his faith. It gave a good insight to a Catholic education via the ‘Sisters’. He gently makes fun of the nuns, by calling them such names as Sister Matic, or Sister Sledge. I imagine that nowadays, he would have been prescribed Ritalin to calm him down, as he comes across as having been a very lively child to say the least, although, not a sporty kid – I can’t imagine he would stick to tactics or listen to a coach’s instructions, so was normally put in goal.
In his live act, he tends to go off on a tangent, and this happens while you are reading the book. I think on one page, he darted back and forth into three different time frames of his life, one of which was just ‘last night’ when his mother phoned. There was no warning, so it caught me out. But this isn’t a criticism, I like that it kept me on my toes. It reads like he is talking, and I can hear his broad Bolton accent coming through the text.
There have been criticisms, not least in other reviews that I have read, about his bad English, and constant errors on the page. Peter admits that he left school with just a GCSE in Art. It isn’t surprising, therefore, that his text is sometimes misspelt, or that, when he has changed a sentence, he has accidentally left in the odd word which should have been removed. So what? It is the fault of the publisher for not proof reading before publication, to remove these errors.
Peter Kay is still a young man, in his mid thirties, who rose to fame very quickly. I assume he is expecting to sink back down as quickly at some point, as his nature is not the type who takes life for granted, he is a very grounded man. I also assume that he thought he should put out a book in case his fame doesn’t last until he is 60 odd. Maybe he should have called it, Peter Kay, the early years, but then, anyone knowing the comedian will know he is only young. The book does centre more on his younger life, so I imagine there will be a part 2 at some point.
I have really enjoyed reading this book. It has made me laugh so much that I have been reading sections out to my family. I have just smiled at some parts, and sympathised at others. Peter is a natural comedian, and I really hope that he continues for a good long time in show business.
I am already looking forward to reading the next instalment!
ISBN 978-1-846-05161-6 Available from most good bookstores, larger superstores, and the usual suspects on line.
Thanks for reading this!
Orlando 2007
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Jun 23rd, 2007
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