Seeds Of Greatness
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First let me give you my reasons for choosing this book. I heard it reviewed on the Simon Mayo Book Panel on Radio 5 Live. Boyd Hilton described it saying "This is clever AND funny AND moving AND brilliant." All the reviewers said something similar. One said that he would naturally shy away from any book that has "Hilarious" on the cover, (I always feel the same) but he had thoroughly enjoyed the book, describing it as "well observed, warm humour and thought provoking."
I found the book light and easy to read. I would not have described it as full of belly laughs, but I did laugh many times while reading it. Things I laughed at were different from the "jokes" the reviewers said they found funny, but I guess that is the essence of humour. There were lots of observations that made me grin - example I enjoyed his description of biographers, they think "they're human torches of truth when they're journalists with more space." I did wonder whether some of the things which amused me would only work for a male audience - he talked about sex with twins and observed that this was the sort of event that you were more likely to remember on your death bed than lots of good deeds and honourable actions. Most males would agree, even if not publicly.
I had thought that this would be critical of celebrities, how some achieve status while being of no real worth to the world. In the end it was the normal guy who I thought was the target, the one who had all the opportunities but did not take them, who blamed others for his lack of success. In fact I found it hard to like Dave because he was such a weak person. In many ways I related to Jack much more, maybe that was the message.
I was not sure about the ending. It almost seemed too cosy, the fact that he wrote a biography that was honest and not the usual sycophantic stuff and was saved by the two women getting together.
Easy to read, warm humour without being the "comic masterpiece" it said on the cover.
I found the book light and easy to read. I would not have described it as full of belly laughs, but I did laugh many times while reading it. Things I laughed at were different from the "jokes" the reviewers said they found funny, but I guess that is the essence of humour. There were lots of observations that made me grin - example I enjoyed his description of biographers, they think "they're human torches of truth when they're journalists with more space." I did wonder whether some of the things which amused me would only work for a male audience - he talked about sex with twins and observed that this was the sort of event that you were more likely to remember on your death bed than lots of good deeds and honourable actions. Most males would agree, even if not publicly.
I had thought that this would be critical of celebrities, how some achieve status while being of no real worth to the world. In the end it was the normal guy who I thought was the target, the one who had all the opportunities but did not take them, who blamed others for his lack of success. In fact I found it hard to like Dave because he was such a weak person. In many ways I related to Jack much more, maybe that was the message.
I was not sure about the ending. It almost seemed too cosy, the fact that he wrote a biography that was honest and not the usual sycophantic stuff and was saved by the two women getting together.
Easy to read, warm humour without being the "comic masterpiece" it said on the cover.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't want to use the word 'disappointing' because it would be difficult to live up to the benchmark of 'A Short Gentleman'. Standing on its own, it's a perfectly adequate piece of light comedic reading, although you do get the impression that it's a series of amusing incidents/scenarios cobbled together within the loping framework of a biography/autobiography. There were some very funny passages - especially the episode with the twins. The writing is obviously backed up with real observational talent. You get the feeling that this is an author who understands the detail of human behaviour and can present its' absurdity in a comedic way - certainly male behaviour. There's no wool pulling over this guy, he can see into everything. You wonder how he could use his penetrative skills on a serious subject.
2 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Seeds of Greatness is okay. Just okay. I was expecting much better because any comedy on TV or radio that as the name Jon Canter amongst the writing credits can usually be relied on to raise the odd titter or two.
Unfortunately I don't recall anything in Seeds of Greatness making my miserable face crack into a smile let alone raise a titter.
I found it to be a very cold story. This is maybe because in a book about the lives of two main characters, as with this book, you should be able to warm to one of them, if not both. In this book I couldn't. Showbiz Jack, the overachiever, comes across as a pain in the neck, pure and simple, but not half as much as underachieving David, who seems to spend most of the book bemoaning his lowly status in life but does nothing to improve it. This meant that I couldn't really care less what happened to either one of them.
This is not a bad book by any means, just disappointing. Maybe if Jon Canter returns to what he does best and adapts it for TV, Seeds of Greatness would make a far better comedy serial
Unfortunately I don't recall anything in Seeds of Greatness making my miserable face crack into a smile let alone raise a titter.
I found it to be a very cold story. This is maybe because in a book about the lives of two main characters, as with this book, you should be able to warm to one of them, if not both. In this book I couldn't. Showbiz Jack, the overachiever, comes across as a pain in the neck, pure and simple, but not half as much as underachieving David, who seems to spend most of the book bemoaning his lowly status in life but does nothing to improve it. This meant that I couldn't really care less what happened to either one of them.
This is not a bad book by any means, just disappointing. Maybe if Jon Canter returns to what he does best and adapts it for TV, Seeds of Greatness would make a far better comedy serial
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