An incredibly honest insight., 19 Feb 2002

Its very definitely a Stephen Fry book - his occasional bouts of introspection and ability to go off at a tangent is so *him* you can almost hear him saying it. If his other novels aren't to your taste, or you don't like his television work, you probably won't be too keen on this (not least because you realise how many of his real life incidents have been dressed up slightly and appeared in his fictional works).

However, I loved it. Its incredibly evocative of the strange world of the English public school and the events that take place within it. At times its almost uncomfortably honest, as Fry confronts the pain he put his family through by slowly exploding (a personal derailment that ended up with his spending time in prison for credit card fraud). However, the descriptions of how his family stuck by him throughout make for some of the most moving passages I've read.

However, its not all exhaustingly emotive stuff - I can't remember the last time I actually laughed out loud at a book, but some of the text really brought tears to my eyes.

In short - if you're not keen on Stephen Fry's novels then this won't convert you; if you are then I can't recommend it enough.

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