If you like serious biographies, choose a different book. Not that it was unpleasant, but writing more than 2 paragraphs waxing lyrical about the voice of the author tends to get tedious (for you) and embarrassing (for me). And yes, that meant that I would frequently have to rewind it, after realizing that I had tuned out the last half an hour.

This second aspect describes about 80% of my experience listening to the audio-book. On the other hand, I was so excited to be surrounded by everything and anything British that I forgot to actually pay attention to the content of what I was being told, too busy enjoying the English-ness of it all. 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. delicious novel of rise and rise of a brilliant young man, which is filled with such vivid background, such unerring social observation, so many wonderful characters and such beguiling incident.' Guardian A joyus allegro vivace of infectious comic bravura. 'Extraordinary, affectionate, engaging, cunningly planned and so crammed with incidental delights. 'Deliciously gossipy and very funny.' The Times we are splendidly better for it.' Observer

A painfully honest attempt to tear the mask aside. What Fry does, essentially, is tell us who he really is. A grand reminiscence of college and theatre and comedyland in the 1980s, with tone-perfect showbiz anecdotes, and genuine readerly excitement. Most readers will want to close the book and give it a hug.' Daily Telegraph 'Stretching from Fry's success at Cambridge, where he met the comic love of his life, Hugh Laurie, to his first forays into television, this is one of the funniest, most generous, most daring pieces of confessional writing published in years. Spanning 1979-1987, The Fry Chronicles charts Stephen's arrival at Cambridge up to his thirtieth birthday.

The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry