anniea89's review against another edition
4.0
This is not your typical celeb autobiography. This is something so much more than that. I've been a fan of Nick Frosts's acting work for quite some time, but to read about his life pre-stardom was both heartbreaking and enlightening. You find yourself just wanting to hug him at every point and tell him it's going to be ok. And you know that it eventually does work out for him.
whether's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
A collection of anecdotes more than a cohesive memoir. Frost has had a fun, adventurous life, but he’s not a great writer. A good editor would have been massively helpful.
ria_mhrj's review against another edition
3.0
I was excited to read this because I'm a huge fan of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and so on, and Nick Frost has always been an exceptionally charming actor. I was expecting perky fluff, a history of his epic bromance with Simon Pegg and loads of anecdotes about their film and TV exploits. So you can imagine my disappointment that Spaced wasn't really mentioned until around page 260-something of a 300 page book.
It's a brave book, depicting a tough life and thoughtfully reflecting on fairness, chances and relativity. Depression isn't an easy thing to deal with and it seems like Nick Frost used this book for catharsis, as his family and his formative experiences make up the bulk of the biography.
Buuuut, my expectations were thwarted, and I feel bad for saying it because this was RAW and I don't want to belittle the book. A fellow book clubber lent me this book saying, "It's really funny" and so I assumed it would be full of hilarious hijinks and memories of how some of my favourite pop culture was created. And in fairness, I laughed a lot, even when Nick Frost is discussing some of his toughest experiences, he never loses his sense of humour and he has a very nice, conversational style.
So, I was hoping for a book full of hilarious Hot Fuzz anecdotes (Timothy Dalton! What a diamond geezer, etc.) but I instead got a gut-wrenching tale of a working class man who stumbled his way into the career of his dreams. Not without its merits, but not what I was expecting either.
It's a brave book, depicting a tough life and thoughtfully reflecting on fairness, chances and relativity. Depression isn't an easy thing to deal with and it seems like Nick Frost used this book for catharsis, as his family and his formative experiences make up the bulk of the biography.
Buuuut, my expectations were thwarted, and I feel bad for saying it because this was RAW and I don't want to belittle the book. A fellow book clubber lent me this book saying, "It's really funny" and so I assumed it would be full of hilarious hijinks and memories of how some of my favourite pop culture was created. And in fairness, I laughed a lot, even when Nick Frost is discussing some of his toughest experiences, he never loses his sense of humour and he has a very nice, conversational style.
So, I was hoping for a book full of hilarious Hot Fuzz anecdotes (Timothy Dalton! What a diamond geezer, etc.) but I instead got a gut-wrenching tale of a working class man who stumbled his way into the career of his dreams. Not without its merits, but not what I was expecting either.
jstamper2022's review
5.0
I'm glad I did the Audiobook of this one as Nick is the narrator. It's a essentially a story of his life and another name to add to the list of funny men who use comedy to mask inner demons for the most part. While it touches on his life with Simon Pegg and how Spaced launched Nicks career, little bummed he didn't cover the trilogy though. It ends with how the birth of his son has pulled him out of his dark place for now, and hopefully forever.
njsmith91's review against another edition
5.0
Outstanding read! I must admit that I have a great love for the comic work of Pegg and Frost, so reading both of their books was a must. I prefer this one, perhaps, because I think Frost's story is a fascinating one - a bit of a rough nut from Dagenham who never intended to be an actor. Best paired with Pegg's book to fully appreciate their bromance.
woolfardis's review against another edition
4.0
Autobiographies are not really my thing: not unless they're a comedian or relatively funny person and can make me laugh whilst reading them. I don't really care about reading about people's lives. Especially famous people. Who cares? Seriously. Who cares.
But comedians and funny people are different. You know it's going to be funny. It has to be. It's their job. That's basically all it has to be. If it's not then what is the point? For me personally, autobiographies are the only books I'll read for pure escapism. Read to laugh. Read to forget the state of the world. Read for something really quick and simple to read. Read when I just can't be bothered to get in to a long novel and the short stories have ended. Sometimes they read just like funny little stories.
Nick Frost didn't want to be an actor. He accidentally became one. That's a good story in of itself. He first appeared in the (I'm biased) amazingly amazing Spaced on Channel 4 with the (I'm really biased) amazingly amazing Simon Pegg. They'd become best friends. Brain lovers. Platonic soul mates. They shared a bed for fuck's sake.
This almost made my dead, black heart cry though. Nick Frost has a had quite the life and he doesn't hold back. He does what he tells you he's going to do, warts and all. He's so good on his promise that you'll be taken on quite the ride, with humour thrown in. That's the best bit. He's had the shit kicked out of him more than once, almost got blown to smithereens in Israel and has been higher more times than the Beatles. It's unrelenting and bleak, but his humour makes it bearable. Humour is a really good coping mechanism if you do it right.
The feeling you get when you finish a really good book. I got it when I finished this. Like I'd been taken on a ride to hell and back, but on the way we detoured to heaven. I haven't had that feeling from a book in so long and I missed it so much. No more reading books because of their covers, or because everyone on Bookstagram is posting about it. No. Just reading it because I want to and sod the three people who only gave it 1 star on GoodReads because you can't give 0. That's a good feeling to get from a book.
Thanks Nick.
But comedians and funny people are different. You know it's going to be funny. It has to be. It's their job. That's basically all it has to be. If it's not then what is the point? For me personally, autobiographies are the only books I'll read for pure escapism. Read to laugh. Read to forget the state of the world. Read for something really quick and simple to read. Read when I just can't be bothered to get in to a long novel and the short stories have ended. Sometimes they read just like funny little stories.
Nick Frost didn't want to be an actor. He accidentally became one. That's a good story in of itself. He first appeared in the (I'm biased) amazingly amazing Spaced on Channel 4 with the (I'm really biased) amazingly amazing Simon Pegg. They'd become best friends. Brain lovers. Platonic soul mates. They shared a bed for fuck's sake.
This almost made my dead, black heart cry though. Nick Frost has a had quite the life and he doesn't hold back. He does what he tells you he's going to do, warts and all. He's so good on his promise that you'll be taken on quite the ride, with humour thrown in. That's the best bit. He's had the shit kicked out of him more than once, almost got blown to smithereens in Israel and has been higher more times than the Beatles. It's unrelenting and bleak, but his humour makes it bearable. Humour is a really good coping mechanism if you do it right.
The feeling you get when you finish a really good book. I got it when I finished this. Like I'd been taken on a ride to hell and back, but on the way we detoured to heaven. I haven't had that feeling from a book in so long and I missed it so much. No more reading books because of their covers, or because everyone on Bookstagram is posting about it. No. Just reading it because I want to and sod the three people who only gave it 1 star on GoodReads because you can't give 0. That's a good feeling to get from a book.
Thanks Nick.
trillium9's review against another edition
I did not know a book could be so dark and so funny. Frost is a real treat, his narrative voice is stellar, and he has so many funny stories to tell.
littlechiefpaleface's review against another edition
4.0
Couldn't put it down. Lots of laughs, room for book 2 which I hope happens sometime in the near future.
wolverinefactor's review against another edition
3.0
Audio book - audible
More like a 3.5
Frost has definitely had an interesting life and this covers the years you probably weren't expecting to hear about. It's brutally honest and personal and hearing him tell the stories himself made it that more interesting. I wouldn't say it's an enjoyable read because he deals with a lot of things from alcoholism, drugs of all sorts but ends it with hope and the fact that he's so up front about his faults makes me respect him more. I probably enjoyed this one a tad bit more than Pegg's autobiography
More like a 3.5
Frost has definitely had an interesting life and this covers the years you probably weren't expecting to hear about. It's brutally honest and personal and hearing him tell the stories himself made it that more interesting. I wouldn't say it's an enjoyable read because he deals with a lot of things from alcoholism, drugs of all sorts but ends it with hope and the fact that he's so up front about his faults makes me respect him more. I probably enjoyed this one a tad bit more than Pegg's autobiography