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chloe_loux's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
My auntie Pat has just passed after some long years suffering with dementia so the chapters recounting his dads struggles with his own dementia have hit very close to home and it felt like I had a friend who understood the situation of seeing someone turn into someone you don’t recognise and in turn they don’t recognise you. Honestly I am a big fan of Eccleston, he grew up close to my area and I’m also from a working class background with the unwavering morals he describes in this book. It was great to see someone be so truthful and vulnerable and still read as authentic rather than attention seeking. Thoroughly enjoyed.
paigeoliviiaa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I couldn't put this down. I love everything Christopher Eccleston stands for.
issie_emma's review against another edition
5.0
An emotional, raw and honest account of someone I didn’t really know. I’ve only ever seen Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor but I thought it would be interesting to read more about his life.
The detail about his father and growing up in a working class world was not only intriguing but felt relatable. Hearing someone who was working class and got into acting was so much more interesting (in my opinion) to hear than someone middle/upper class who goes into the industry.
I knew that Eccleston had dealt with anorexia, however I didn’t know to the extent of his eating disorder or his mental illnesses, especially so recently. The honesty in his account was touching and shocking yet necessary.
I’m not often moved to tears by a book. I am for film, tv or theatre but not by reading. This one had me shedding tears so quietly by the time I had finished but has easy become one of the best autobiographies I’ve read or will ever read.
The detail about his father and growing up in a working class world was not only intriguing but felt relatable. Hearing someone who was working class and got into acting was so much more interesting (in my opinion) to hear than someone middle/upper class who goes into the industry.
I knew that Eccleston had dealt with anorexia, however I didn’t know to the extent of his eating disorder or his mental illnesses, especially so recently. The honesty in his account was touching and shocking yet necessary.
I’m not often moved to tears by a book. I am for film, tv or theatre but not by reading. This one had me shedding tears so quietly by the time I had finished but has easy become one of the best autobiographies I’ve read or will ever read.
contemporarymeepsie's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
I Love the Bones of You is an autobiography by Christopher Eccleston following his life from early childhood to starring on the RSC stage as Macbeth. But more specifically framing his life with the influence of his father Ronnie.
I thought this book was okay. I am not usually a reader of biographies, preferring instead to read a memoir (which I consider to be a fictionalised version of a true story) rather then biographies which are generally just famous people recounting things that happened to them in their lives. This was a little of column A and a little of column B for me. The bits of Eccleston's life that related to his family I found to be quite interesting and moving, but the bits about his career I found very boring. There was a particular chapter nearing the end about his work on Our Friends in the North, which obviously meant a lot to him personally, but I was so bored and it was triple the length of other chapters, and it felt very much like his editor had asked him to include more of his work to counter-balance the bits about his dad and family. It felt disingenuous which was a shame and really made me disconnect, but then he moved off his career and returned to what I believed he truly wanted to reflect on, which was his relationship with his ailing father. I personally found these chapters to be much more interesting and thankfully made me finish the book on a high. If that isn't insensitive to say given the context at the end.
Overall I'd say, a semi-interesting read but lots of repetition. Though I did learn some information about Christopher Eccleston I never knew and it reframed my experience of him.
I thought this book was okay. I am not usually a reader of biographies, preferring instead to read a memoir (which I consider to be a fictionalised version of a true story) rather then biographies which are generally just famous people recounting things that happened to them in their lives. This was a little of column A and a little of column B for me. The bits of Eccleston's life that related to his family I found to be quite interesting and moving, but the bits about his career I found very boring. There was a particular chapter nearing the end about his work on Our Friends in the North, which obviously meant a lot to him personally, but I was so bored and it was triple the length of other chapters, and it felt very much like his editor had asked him to include more of his work to counter-balance the bits about his dad and family. It felt disingenuous which was a shame and really made me disconnect, but then he moved off his career and returned to what I believed he truly wanted to reflect on, which was his relationship with his ailing father. I personally found these chapters to be much more interesting and thankfully made me finish the book on a high. If that isn't insensitive to say given the context at the end.
Overall I'd say, a semi-interesting read but lots of repetition. Though I did learn some information about Christopher Eccleston I never knew and it reframed my experience of him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Dementia
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
randland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
wikjaw's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
djdimond's review against another edition
5.0
Really loved this book a lot. Anyone who has felt anxiety, that they can't find their place in the world, or just not good enough will connect with it very well. For those who have had a relative suffer from Dementia, it's an all too familiar story told with emotion and love.