| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|
Goodreads synopsis: A thoughtful look at the brilliant life and tragic death of a comedy icon
At midday on August 11, 2014, much-loved comedian Robin Williams was pronounced dead at his California home. From Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, and Aladdin to Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams brought laughter—and deep joy—to a generation. He was sparklingly funny, a lightning-fast improviser, and a wonderful comic. But what touched millions of people was the warmth and compassion he exuded. The deeply tragic manner in which he took his own life has come as a shock to the world and caused people to wonder about the desperately troubled life behind the laughter he gave to millions. With Twitter igniting from record volumes of tributes to the much-loved actor, the death of Robin Williams has caused a public outpouring of grief not seen since the passing of Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston. Emily Herbert’s sensitive and thoughtful biography celebrates his genius, and attempts to understand what could have driven such a warm and gifted man to take his own life.
My thoughts: I was entertained enough but strongly disagree with what a biography should contain. Movie reviews, synopsis and twitter feeds are not what I see as building blocks in a biography about our times most enigmatic man. I wanted to know about the man behind the laughter and even though Herbert did bring some of it forward, I would probably have received the same information by reading his Wikipedia page. The book is dripping with thoughts and small anecdotes about his comedy and movies, from critics without a reason, for an example, describe Williams reaction and actions caused by it. I don’t care what the critics says about his work. I don’t care what the movies is about and quite frankly do NOT need an description and critical essay about it. As a huge fan of Williams, I have already seen them and made up my own mind about them.
I wanted to read about Robin Williams life since he was an enigma and his death came as a brutal shock. I wanted to know about the private man. How he came to be who he was, and what made him thick. I wanted to know about the son, comedian, man, husband, father, cheater, drug user, actor and all that was the man Robin Williams. I think I got the basics of it and I did learn some new information. But no, this is nothing I will recommend. I think it probably was better as an audio-book than in written form. Seen a lot of reviews about the terrible writing and that should be a reason enough for why this book never should have been published.
