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Amazon.co.uk Review
Peter Cook may have had problems that prevented him ever fully achieving all that his comic genius was capable of, but that side of the writer and comedian is not the point of Tragically, I Was an Only Twin: The Complete Peter Cook, which is a quite marvellous anthology of the man's writings.
Cook's reputation has continued to flourish since his death, and many consider him (along with Spike Milligan) one of the greatest comic writers this country has produced. Although his public face was always the quaffing, sardonic commentator, he was, in fact, a writer who simply never stopped creating new sketches and articles for both public consumption and his own satisfaction. Many of these pieces have not been published before, and many have only been broadcast once. This collection brings together many high spots of Cook's career: from his early success with Beyond the Fringe (and his initial meetings with Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore) to his time as an éminence grise behind the magazine Private Eye.
Needless to say, all the marvellous EL Whisty monologues are here, as well as classic Pete and Dud routines, and even the more scabrous collaborations between Cook and Moore as the foul-mouthed Derek and Clive. The fact that Cook's Milligan-like drawings complement the text makes this a truly cherishable volume. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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'A classic of English humour' The Independent
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We are no longer One Book Too Few,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tragically I Was an Only Twin: The Comedy of Peter Cook (Hardcover)
At last, a collection of the musings of one of the greatest living Englishmen (albeit, now a dead one). Peter Amadeus Cook, as John Cleese referred to him. Since Peter's death there has been the odd book about him here and there. Harry Thompson's excellent Biog and Something Like Fire the collection of memories of friends and colleagues edited by Cook's last wife Lin being chief among them. This however is the nitty gritty, the dog's doo-dahs or perhaps more aptly, the bee's knees (as many of Cook's wildly inventive stream of consciousness tales included that very insect).Here are culled examples - though not as the name suggests 'The Complete' - Peter Cook creative outpoorings, from his early reviews through to the Clive Anderson special with assorted pieces of writing in between, not quite what you might call journalism but mini works of genius every one. Peter is dead, E.L. Wisty never managed to dominate the world but we can still help make a difference if every household had a copy of this book. Sit it in your loo and read a sketch per visit, put it by your bedside (it may help get rid of film starlets bothering you in their nocturnal lusts), just buy the book dammit, read it, injest it, spoil yourself in its healthy outlook on the ridiculous world we live in and give thanks for Peter Cook.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
400 plus pages of comic genius Peter Cook!!!,
By Jason Parkes "We're all Frankies'" (Worcester, UK) - See all my reviews (No. 1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Tragically I was an Only Twin: The Complete Peter Cook (Paperback)
This collection is superb- transcripts of various pieces/sketches etc that Cook made over several decades. From the classic Beyond the Fringe (& preceding work, though sadly not the short ghost story that is mentioned in the introduction)through to the collaborations with the late Dudley Moore (Not Only But Also, Pete & Dud, Derek & Clive)alongside work for Private Eye ("The Seductive Brethren")& the more recent, if no less great, pieces for/with Clive Anderson & Chris Morris. There's so much here, & you don't have to offer pious reverence to the initial audio/visual sources (especially if these don't exist, or have been binned, as much of Cook's early work)- this is a great book you can dip into. Derek & Clive does smack a bit of Pinter! This collection is a brilliant reminder of a great comic, & proof that Cook didn't blow it or anything like that...Ideally this should be read alongside Lin Cook's biography of him & the brilliant Bedazzled also!!! Peter Cook was punk rock before punk rock, he was a genius who'd achieved pretty much everything by his 30s...as Stephen Fry says on the cover "The funniest man who ever drew breath". Plus, it's great to read (where else?) on the toilet!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really amusing,
By
This review is from: Tragically I was an Only Twin: The Complete Peter Cook (Paperback)
The only bad thing I have to say about this collection of Peter Cook's work is that the cover describes it as the complete Peter Cook, and well it's not, it's would be truer to call it the best of Peter Cook. And it really is that, it's got most of the classic scripts from the Tarzan sketch to Pete n Dud. The part that I really enjoyed to the point where I was chuckling away is the latter part of the book, it would seem that Peter Cook got funnier and funnier as time passed, watch out for Sven and his fishes expecially funny given as it was from a radio phone in.
It's definatly worth a read if you have a sense of humour, if you don't I would like to recommend 'Starting to Paint With Acrilycs' by John Raynes which is not funny in the slightest.
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