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Confessions Of A Conjuror (2000)

by Derren Brown(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1905026579 (ISBN13: 9781905026579)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

review 1: An interesting take on the standard celeb autobiography in which Derren uses a detailed description of a card trick performed some years ago as the narrative thread, and drifting off at tangents as he is reminded of incidents from his early life, prompted to create random lists, chooses to name-drop (just a little!) and espouses his philosophies on life and its general lack of kindnesses. The sense with which I came away from this book was that Derren didn't seem to like himself at all until comparatively recently. His almost overwhelming self-criticism is evident from the first minutes of the recording and there is very little of the dark, sexy persona created for his earlier TV shows. Several of the childhood memories do not show him in a good light at all and I will adm... moreit to cruelly sniggering at his embarrassment re Hugh Grant. Sorry, Derren! This is a revealing autobiography but it is not laid out easily so some work is required from the listener. I thought it was the more rewarding for this.
review 2: Not sure what to award this piece of writing really. I like Derren's attitude generally although I haven't seen that many of his shows as I don't tend to watch TV. This book is really a stream of conciousness- a brain-splurge of tangental and non-consequential thoughts. It is framed by a vignette of his younger self performing a complex card-trick to a group of people at a table in a Bristol restaurant (where he was hired to provide the entertainment)The main problem with this book is the serious amounts of waffle and the utter pretentiousness of the unruly style, flowing out into never-ending footnotes on almost every page- there's even a footnote within a footnote as I recall- one has the impression that he takes his off the cuff sermonising a little too seriously. After a few chapters of this I was ready to chuck the book but I hung on because in amongst the guff there are some fresh and amusing observations and I think the balance of these increases over the course.It's strange because he also seems to relish humiliation as well as self-agrandisment and his eye for detail in a self put-down is never less than amusing.The detail about the card-trick (which spans the book) is also fascinating; but really one could do with less of the personal philosophy which often sounds as boring as the ramblings of a stoner after one too many bongloads.Going into endless detail about such and such a minor life event could be mistaken by the author for profundity in the lonely course of writing a follow up book I suppose, but the reader who runs through it in the hope of finding something at all worth the effort is not so easily satisfied.Still I really loved the selectivly varnished and expensively moulded cover![On a point of interest raised in the course:- doesn't everyone stand up to wipe their bottom?] less

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