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Product Description
Daily Mail
Torrential psychological biography ... a savage but satiating account
Sunday Telegraph
A fascinating, tragic and instructive story, vividly told
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am gobsmacked at the low rating that this book has been given. I can only suppose that dullards want dull, colourless and unchallenging books that don't upset their preconceptions or that don't say anything nasty about that terribly funny Inspector Clouseau. Well, don't believe the unhype, this one is utterly compelling, beautifully written and fascinatingly labyrinthine (this is a good thing).
Aren't you fed up of humdrum by-the-numbers biographies? The sort that just give you a dreary Gradgrindish recitation of facts: In 1963 he did this, then next year he did that and the year after he did some other things.
Lewis, who is tellingly name checked by Jonathan Coe in the acknowledgements to his superb biography of BS Johnson, Like A Fiery Elephant, is upfront about the selectivity of his biography, that it can only be one person's version of another person's life. Otherwise the danger is that the biographer (implicitly) says that this is the truth, the whole truth and the only truth.
It is obvious even from the lightweight books on Sellers, with their anecdotes about his penchant for pranks and practical jokes, his deliberate corpsing and aggravated improvisation and his obsession with cars and gadgets, that there was a very dark undertow of cruelty and disengagement in Seller's life. I think what has prompted some of the outraged comments about this book is the disparity it reveals between the onscreen characters and the offscreen man. Sellers is hardly a unique example of this phenomenon. But just because he was a comic actor it doesn't mean that in a biography all we should get is a jolly Pink Pantherish romp through his life. Sellers was clearly a fascinating and complex man with many demons and pyschological, er, issues. This is precisely the stuff I want a biography to address.
Yes, Lewis is scathing about Sellers peronality flaws but this balanced by his brilliant dissection and celebration of Seller's talent and artistry, especially in his early film work. Surely the fascination of any notoriously 'difficult' artist is in endeavouring to uncover the extent to which the art is a result of, and an excuse for, the defects in their daily lives. The book is vast and there are countless diversions, tangents, tributaries and curiosities covered but this is not padding, it's vital in order to give a full expostion of the man and his times, circumstances, influences and so on.
I wouldn't claim to have been a huge Sellers fan before reading this book, but I was interested enough to want to read it, and having done so it has sharpened my appetite to track down many of his films that I haven't yet seen. What greater tribute is there to biographer and his subject?
Aren't you fed up of humdrum by-the-numbers biographies? The sort that just give you a dreary Gradgrindish recitation of facts: In 1963 he did this, then next year he did that and the year after he did some other things.
Lewis, who is tellingly name checked by Jonathan Coe in the acknowledgements to his superb biography of BS Johnson, Like A Fiery Elephant, is upfront about the selectivity of his biography, that it can only be one person's version of another person's life. Otherwise the danger is that the biographer (implicitly) says that this is the truth, the whole truth and the only truth.
It is obvious even from the lightweight books on Sellers, with their anecdotes about his penchant for pranks and practical jokes, his deliberate corpsing and aggravated improvisation and his obsession with cars and gadgets, that there was a very dark undertow of cruelty and disengagement in Seller's life. I think what has prompted some of the outraged comments about this book is the disparity it reveals between the onscreen characters and the offscreen man. Sellers is hardly a unique example of this phenomenon. But just because he was a comic actor it doesn't mean that in a biography all we should get is a jolly Pink Pantherish romp through his life. Sellers was clearly a fascinating and complex man with many demons and pyschological, er, issues. This is precisely the stuff I want a biography to address.
Yes, Lewis is scathing about Sellers peronality flaws but this balanced by his brilliant dissection and celebration of Seller's talent and artistry, especially in his early film work. Surely the fascination of any notoriously 'difficult' artist is in endeavouring to uncover the extent to which the art is a result of, and an excuse for, the defects in their daily lives. The book is vast and there are countless diversions, tangents, tributaries and curiosities covered but this is not padding, it's vital in order to give a full expostion of the man and his times, circumstances, influences and so on.
I wouldn't claim to have been a huge Sellers fan before reading this book, but I was interested enough to want to read it, and having done so it has sharpened my appetite to track down many of his films that I haven't yet seen. What greater tribute is there to biographer and his subject?
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There have been many books about the late, great Peter Sellers over the years, but this biography takes the time and hassle to present the reader with a detailed and revealing portrait of a talented but troubled actor.
I do find the author's style of writng somewhat confusing sometimes;Roger Lewis seems to cover different incidents of Sellers's life all at the same time.
However, I can quite easily overlook that minor quibble, as the text has been so brilliantly written and researched.
Both Peter Sellers's life and films are thoroughly examined, attempting to probe into the man.
The result is a picture of a man who claimed to have no inner self or personality of his own and became immersed in the art of characterizations.
The book is quite a challenge to read, but please stick with it and enjoy a terrific biography about a terrific actor.
I do find the author's style of writng somewhat confusing sometimes;Roger Lewis seems to cover different incidents of Sellers's life all at the same time.
However, I can quite easily overlook that minor quibble, as the text has been so brilliantly written and researched.
Both Peter Sellers's life and films are thoroughly examined, attempting to probe into the man.
The result is a picture of a man who claimed to have no inner self or personality of his own and became immersed in the art of characterizations.
The book is quite a challenge to read, but please stick with it and enjoy a terrific biography about a terrific actor.
Format:Paperback
It is certainly a long read, though this is overlooked if you are a Sellers fan. It explores every aspect of his life, which the author should be praised for.
However, Lewis has a raw attitude which rips Sellers apart. When reading, I found myself disappointed when at every turn Lewis would mock or criticise Sellers. Granted, in many occasions the criticism is deserved, though at one point Sellers is noted as being "evil". This seems extreme for a man struggled to connect with people and himself.
It is a very good read. Filled with Interviews, letters ect. Though, my only warning would be to have an open mind when reading, but also taking Lewis' words with a pinch of salt. There are many other books and interviews which will disagree with Lewis. After all, his opinion (which is expressed frequently) is not defiant.
However, Lewis has a raw attitude which rips Sellers apart. When reading, I found myself disappointed when at every turn Lewis would mock or criticise Sellers. Granted, in many occasions the criticism is deserved, though at one point Sellers is noted as being "evil". This seems extreme for a man struggled to connect with people and himself.
It is a very good read. Filled with Interviews, letters ect. Though, my only warning would be to have an open mind when reading, but also taking Lewis' words with a pinch of salt. There are many other books and interviews which will disagree with Lewis. After all, his opinion (which is expressed frequently) is not defiant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
PETER SELLERS COMEDY GOD
Now if your looking for a biography,this certainly is one.A thousand plus pages,heaving with facts,anecdotes and interviews.It is a major work in itself.HOWEVER... Read more
Published 9 months ago by mister joe
' You've got to have a heart before you can have an attack. '
So said the producer Billy Wilder on the subject of Peter Sellers (on page 906 !!).Well I can't really argue about this not being a comprehensive if totally exhausting insight into... Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2009 by The Right Reverend
Fascinating study of a troubled comedy genius.
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is, for me, an absorbing book detailing Sellers' life, career, insecurities, meanness and madness. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2008 by Simon T.
Disappointing and annoying
Despite its great length this is nowhere near a definitive biography. Incoherent, pretentious and ultimately exhausting it leaves so much unanswered.
Published on 7 April 2008 by Gary H
slighlty lacking in something
i have indeed found this a very compelling book, but i have a few problems with it. first of all, it gives you no sense the developement of his career. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2005
A complete waste of meticulous research
I read the hardback edition (Century) - 817 pages long. I thoroughly enjoyed two pages - pages 712-13 on which Lewis describes Jonathan Miller's film *Alice's Adventures in... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2005 by Arrem
The PROLONGED Life and Death of Peter Sellers
This book is 600 pages too long. I'm a fan of Peter Sellers (his films at any rate), but to be honest, i don't think he did enough in his career, or his life to merit this great... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2004 by Gary J. Clark
Hateful yet compelling
"Hateful yet compelling" is the best way to sum this up - one wants to murmur, with Canon Chasuble, "Charity, my dear Miss Prism, charity" - but I'm obliged to admit it sustained... Read more
Published on 7 July 2004 by Pismotality
I read this so you won't have to
Whilst this book did not make me physically ill, it has come closer than anything I have ever read.
Firstly, the book is interminably long- 890 of the 1050 pages are devoted to... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2004 by Chandler
A disappointing marathon
I bought this at an airport bookshop only a month ago - I thought it was new, but it was 10 years old. First disappoinment. Second disappointment was the content. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2004 by David R. Griffiths
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