Scan barcode
romysh's review against another edition
2.0
The language he uses is a bit difficult for me and it makes it very hard to read. I need to focus on what I'm reading about, when it's only how Derren looks for his pen, waits for the lift, what he reads on the loo or how he eats After Eights. It seems riducolous to me. Then I look at the cover and see 'Confessions of a Conjuror' and think: 'This is not what I ordered.' Didn't enjoy it but still finished it. One great thing stood out, which made me pu it into practise. And that is being kind when meeting famous people. Or basically be kind to all the people you don't know to make the best first impression.
kenmooney's review against another edition
Every moment I was getting into the book, it went off on a tangent about nothing... At length. Was just too much for me to keep going.
wintrovia's review against another edition
3.0
I've finished the book and I'm still not sure what it's meant to be. It's not what it says it is, the "confessions" element is just a very padded out anecdote about a card trick. The rest is a mish mash of action-free reminiscences and inane observations. There are long passages about what he does when he can't find his pen, how he copes with broken shoelaces and very, very detailed instructions on how he makes poached eggs (broadly the same as everyone). Yet, despite the subject matter being turgid at times, the writing is full of Brown's wit and charisma that he brings to his stage show and therefore isn't nearly as bad as it sounds from the above description.
stefaniejane's review against another edition
4.0
This is a difficult book to explain. If you're really into Derren you will like it, but if you're into learning some quick tricks or illusions look for his other books instead.
eyreguide's review against another edition
5.0
Derren Brown is one of my favorite people, so of course I highly enjoyed this book - it is actually one of my favorites. What's so great about this book is the way it's constructed because it is not a conventional kind of autobiography. Derren Brown performs magnificent mental tricks and illusions, so he's very aware of himself and very self-analytical in the way he tells his story. I found that aspect to be very relatable, and I think others who identify with being socially awkward, introspective and curious can also relate to his story. The way he illuminates his own psyche with examples, and the thought processes of why some people can act a certain way, gives the reader the tools to try and understand their own quirks. This book is a strange balance of personal stories, psychology, history, humor, and minutia. Derren's way of interweaving his philosophical thoughts with, let's say, his nervous tics, his petty shoplifting as a child, his method of cooking the perfect eggs benedict, his list of perfect books to read while on the toilet and his interest in art and music is fascinating to me and especially enjoyable because he expresses himself with such humor and self-deprecation.
To further separate this story from traditional memoirs, Derren frames the whole of his narrative by describing a performance of one of his card tricks to a group of strangers. In the way he describes what's going on in his mind at each step as he performs it, he digresses into many different threads of thought which gives the background of his experiences growing up, his interest in magic, and the way his mind thinks. After reading this book, I get such a sense of understanding - not just of what kind of person Derren Brown is, but also of his joy of life which is what I usually feel whenever I see one of Derren's more inspiring television performances. That and a sense of awe.
I think this is a book that all fans of Derren Brown will enjoy, but there is an added level of thought-provoking self-analysis that could appeal to any reader unfamiliar with Derren's work. I highly recommend the audiobook as well which is read by the author, although there are a few footnote digressions in the book that don't make it to the audio.
To further separate this story from traditional memoirs, Derren frames the whole of his narrative by describing a performance of one of his card tricks to a group of strangers. In the way he describes what's going on in his mind at each step as he performs it, he digresses into many different threads of thought which gives the background of his experiences growing up, his interest in magic, and the way his mind thinks. After reading this book, I get such a sense of understanding - not just of what kind of person Derren Brown is, but also of his joy of life which is what I usually feel whenever I see one of Derren's more inspiring television performances. That and a sense of awe.
I think this is a book that all fans of Derren Brown will enjoy, but there is an added level of thought-provoking self-analysis that could appeal to any reader unfamiliar with Derren's work. I highly recommend the audiobook as well which is read by the author, although there are a few footnote digressions in the book that don't make it to the audio.
geralddaniels's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
hepalmer's review against another edition
4.0
This was a mix of magicians tricks, psychology and Derren's take on the world - i loved it!
teameak's review against another edition
5.0
Always love reading anything written by Derren Brown. A whimsical journey through the stages of a trick, paced with anecdotes and snap shots into Derrens life and mind. Highly recommend for any fans, and anyone who finds his storytelling pathways as enthralling as I do.
mikewa14's review against another edition
5.0
I have never read a book quite like this - three parallel texts woven into a single book.
It was a fascinating and honest display of both his skills as a magician and his weaknesses as a person, together with an explanation of what makes him tick.
full review here
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/confessions-of-conjuror-derren-brown.html
It was a fascinating and honest display of both his skills as a magician and his weaknesses as a person, together with an explanation of what makes him tick.
full review here
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/confessions-of-conjuror-derren-brown.html
phillipjedwards's review against another edition
4.0
The first thing to say about this 'memoir' is that Derren Brown has a writing style like no other celebrity, or possibly anyone since the days of Dickens and Melville. His rococo prosification would not be unbefitting of a lawyer in a 19th century novel. I only hope it's not catching.
His recollections of a performance of a card trick to an audience in a Bristol restaurant some years ago (before he found fame) form the scaffolding onto which he hangs various digressions - psychological and philosophical flights of fancy. In fact this book is one long meandering, but fascinatingly peculiar, reverie.
His astonishingly anal attention to detail as he observes individual audience members - noting the significance of every glance, nuance and gesture and describing events in super slow-motion, is extraordinary. Like Sherlock Holmes deducing everything in bullet-time.
It's not just the audience who are under the microscope though, he becomes more and more self-analytical:
"Sometimes as I squatted, performing this task in a scruffy coat, surrounded by my shopping bags and glancing shoppers, I wondered what really separates the mentally peculiar from the merely particular," he muses.
The task was buying earplugs - which apparently requires a good feel so as to ascertain that the density of the foam is of the desired sufficiency. This is a man so finickety he makes Niles Crane (from the sitcom Frasier) seem like a bit of rough. If I had been told this was a book written by a high functioning autistic, or someone with some similar syndrome, or perhaps a patient of Oliver Sacks, I would have been no more surprised.
"Some of these rituals do seem to knock tentatively at the looming fortified door of the asylum," he admits at one point. No shit, Derren! Well, I say no shit, but he does then go on to discuss methods of bottom-wiping...
Along the way he does briefly reveal some of the tricks of the trade - conjuring that is, not bottom-wiping. Not only the mechanics of forcing and palming cards but, more interestingly, the psychology of misdirection, the manipulation of the audience's imagination and the whole theatricality of performing magic.
Fabulously odd.
His recollections of a performance of a card trick to an audience in a Bristol restaurant some years ago (before he found fame) form the scaffolding onto which he hangs various digressions - psychological and philosophical flights of fancy. In fact this book is one long meandering, but fascinatingly peculiar, reverie.
His astonishingly anal attention to detail as he observes individual audience members - noting the significance of every glance, nuance and gesture and describing events in super slow-motion, is extraordinary. Like Sherlock Holmes deducing everything in bullet-time.
It's not just the audience who are under the microscope though, he becomes more and more self-analytical:
"Sometimes as I squatted, performing this task in a scruffy coat, surrounded by my shopping bags and glancing shoppers, I wondered what really separates the mentally peculiar from the merely particular," he muses.
The task was buying earplugs - which apparently requires a good feel so as to ascertain that the density of the foam is of the desired sufficiency. This is a man so finickety he makes Niles Crane (from the sitcom Frasier) seem like a bit of rough. If I had been told this was a book written by a high functioning autistic, or someone with some similar syndrome, or perhaps a patient of Oliver Sacks, I would have been no more surprised.
"Some of these rituals do seem to knock tentatively at the looming fortified door of the asylum," he admits at one point. No shit, Derren! Well, I say no shit, but he does then go on to discuss methods of bottom-wiping...
Along the way he does briefly reveal some of the tricks of the trade - conjuring that is, not bottom-wiping. Not only the mechanics of forcing and palming cards but, more interestingly, the psychology of misdirection, the manipulation of the audience's imagination and the whole theatricality of performing magic.
Fabulously odd.