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Review
‘Wonderful anthology. A superbly sustained piece of comedy. Like so mush else in this collection, these excerpts inspire a return to the source.’ Chris Power, The Times
‘The most comprehensive compendium of the troubled genius' work. This volume spans his entire career…making this a testament to one of our most absurdly talented comedians. Poignant, nonsensical and hilarious. The Essential Spike Milligan is a more than appropriate epitaph.’ Ben Arnold, Jockey Slut
‘A joyous and wondrous thing…Alex Games has done a fine job…A sound and neatly timed volume and perfect for filling a Milligan-shaped gap in anyone’s life.’ Marcus Berkmann, Literary Review
‘Successfully shows why Spike Milligan deserves his place at the heart of British comedy.’ Simon Webster, TLS
‘Wonderful anthology. A superbly sustained piece of comedy.‘ Times
Chris Power, The Times
Wonderful anthology. A superbly sustained piece of comedy.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Only Spike Milliagan could be so brilliantly childish and observational.... so many try yet cant carry off the innocent yet deep poems and humour in this book.
Although I found reading the Goon show scripts sections a bit hard - and skipped most of them... (they wern't really of my generation, more my dads era....im sure i'll go back and read them later ).... but i really take my time reading the poems and re-reading them as they as genius yet silly and one can get.
A fabulous piece of escapism.... and his biography bits are great too..... a must read! A true eccentric!
Although I found reading the Goon show scripts sections a bit hard - and skipped most of them... (they wern't really of my generation, more my dads era....im sure i'll go back and read them later ).... but i really take my time reading the poems and re-reading them as they as genius yet silly and one can get.
A fabulous piece of escapism.... and his biography bits are great too..... a must read! A true eccentric!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a stroll through the work of one of the most productive comic writters of modern times.This book contains extracts from his many books and scripts of some the most memorable Goon Shows.Also interleaved between these gems are poems ,silly verse for kids and letters he sent and recieved when championing his many causes.
Format:Paperback
This career-spanning anthology (Millelany?) includes poems, sketches, stories and excerpts from Spike's novels and war memoirs. It is organised in sections such as "Cracking Up" and "Beaming Down", whose titles bear no obvious connection to the contents. Much of the writing goes for instant and momentary half-chuckles, both trivial and wearing in quantity. The poetry particularly (at least that selected here) is mostly throw-away nonsense, though there are a few more serious efforts that earn their keep.
Similarly, the prose is at its best when some feeling and sense of the man comes through, somewhere in the relentless barrage of wise-cracks. The excerpts from "Puckoon" suggest something of substance, and those from his war memoirs evoke both the fun and the strain of chaotic events. Near the end is the script for an episode of an ill-fated broad sitcom about multiculturalism: revelling in its political incorrectness, it's perhaps the funniest thing in the book.
Although I was only moderately impressed, Spike did have a facility with language and word-play. It would have been worth reading this entertaining collection just to acquire a few wonderful nuggets like these:
"The M.O. gave us all some foul-tasting pills that left you feeling like you'd slept with an Arab's toe in your mouth."
"Gad, it's hot... You can grab a handful of air and squeeze the sweat out of it."
And from that sitcom, an exchange in London between Van Gogh (a Pakistani) and Colonel Grope (a bigot):
VAN GOGH: We are told that you feed starving Indians.
COLONEL: Yes, but we don't serve the food here. You have to go to Calcutta, lie on the pavement and hold up one withered arm with a tin.
Similarly, the prose is at its best when some feeling and sense of the man comes through, somewhere in the relentless barrage of wise-cracks. The excerpts from "Puckoon" suggest something of substance, and those from his war memoirs evoke both the fun and the strain of chaotic events. Near the end is the script for an episode of an ill-fated broad sitcom about multiculturalism: revelling in its political incorrectness, it's perhaps the funniest thing in the book.
Although I was only moderately impressed, Spike did have a facility with language and word-play. It would have been worth reading this entertaining collection just to acquire a few wonderful nuggets like these:
"The M.O. gave us all some foul-tasting pills that left you feeling like you'd slept with an Arab's toe in your mouth."
"Gad, it's hot... You can grab a handful of air and squeeze the sweat out of it."
And from that sitcom, an exchange in London between Van Gogh (a Pakistani) and Colonel Grope (a bigot):
VAN GOGH: We are told that you feed starving Indians.
COLONEL: Yes, but we don't serve the food here. You have to go to Calcutta, lie on the pavement and hold up one withered arm with a tin.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Poetry review
I haven't bought this book but am thinking about doing so to use for my daughter to use for part of her A-level English Language cousrework. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Lynn
The Essential Spike Milligan by Eddie Izzard
A fantastic gift for a spike milligan fan, well received & enjoyed!
10/10
10/10
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by J Nicholls
The essential Spike Milligan
If you are a fan of Spike, or even if you've giggled at a sketch on some old BBC comedy show, you will love this book. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by Mr. M. Anderson
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