An interesting and insightful look at what makes as human.
I would not say that this is the easiest of books to read but if you persevere then it is a gem of a book that looks at all that makes us human.
Ostensibly it is about what makes comedians human but the fact that the whole relationship between the audience and the comedian is focused by and large on our commonality means that much of this book is about being a human more generally. The exception to this is probably the first 2 chapters which are more focused on what leads the comedian to become a comedian and what sustains them in this role. This is a book that is very much tongue in cheek at times and so it meshes the intellectual with the humorous.
The chapter on the Imp of Your Mind is particularly good as is the chapter on death as it seeks to look at the views that are common to being a human. For me like Ince I can remember those public information broadcast of the 1970’s about the dangers of Frisbees and electricity and of nuclear annihilation and as such I can relate more to the role that these may have played in developing the psyche of our generation.
All in all a very thoughtful piece of writing that is both enlightening an entertaining.
Ostensibly it is about what makes comedians human but the fact that the whole relationship between the audience and the comedian is focused by and large on our commonality means that much of this book is about being a human more generally. The exception to this is probably the first 2 chapters which are more focused on what leads the comedian to become a comedian and what sustains them in this role. This is a book that is very much tongue in cheek at times and so it meshes the intellectual with the humorous.
The chapter on the Imp of Your Mind is particularly good as is the chapter on death as it seeks to look at the views that are common to being a human. For me like Ince I can remember those public information broadcast of the 1970’s about the dangers of Frisbees and electricity and of nuclear annihilation and as such I can relate more to the role that these may have played in developing the psyche of our generation.
All in all a very thoughtful piece of writing that is both enlightening an entertaining.