Tall Tales and Wee Stories
5 stars
I'm a massive fan of anything Billy Connolly does, says, narrates or writes. Having seen him perform live, he writes very much as he talks, and his musings, wanderings, and sometimes dragging things to a conclusion are all reflected in this whimsical collection of odds and ends, many of which those who have followed him for many years will already know.
But as he says, he's been asked many times to write down some of his best known tales from his stand-up days and always resisted until now as the stories had a life of their own. Having now retired from live stand-up it sort of makes sense that he'd start to write not just his autobiographies, but also these routines. Frankly he could write anything and I'd read it - from the eiderdowns with sleeves, to the hints of the difficult days of his childhood, to his mad mates, …
I'm a massive fan of anything Billy Connolly does, says, narrates or writes. Having seen him perform live, he writes very much as he talks, and his musings, wanderings, and sometimes dragging things to a conclusion are all reflected in this whimsical collection of odds and ends, many of which those who have followed him for many years will already know.
But as he says, he's been asked many times to write down some of his best known tales from his stand-up days and always resisted until now as the stories had a life of their own. Having now retired from live stand-up it sort of makes sense that he'd start to write not just his autobiographies, but also these routines. Frankly he could write anything and I'd read it - from the eiderdowns with sleeves, to the hints of the difficult days of his childhood, to his mad mates, his drinking buddies, his playing days, the kids and his amazing wife (and bottles of safe drinking water that aren't), and the elderly Scottish ladies and assorted nutters on the streets.
This came as part of our f2f bookclub's annual list, but I'd have read it anyway, will probably re-read it and if it's on audio then it'll get a run there too.
