Dear Fatty

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Dawn French

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Pages: 384 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 1846053447

Pub: Century

Pub date: 2008-10-09

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2

Editorial Review:

It's become a cliché in Britain to call somebody in the entertainment field a national institution -- but that's exactly what Dawn French is. As both comedienne and actress (the latter in both comedy and straight parts), she has become one of the best loved entertainers in the country. Her range is not wide (unlike her dimensions -- and that's the sort of joke she'd crack), but she is utterly winning in everything he does. And that quality continues in Dear Fatty, a truly entertaining memoir of an event-packed life.
The form of the book is a series of letters by French, conjuring her transformation from a West Country RAF girl to a star of the cult alternative comedy group The Comic Strip. This was followed by the groundbreaking all-female Girls on Top (which did much to establish the position of women in British comedy), the astonishing success of the TV series French and Saunders (with French's equally talented friend Jennifer Saunders) and the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley, where French's wickedly sardonic touch keeps the tweeness of the basic situation -- female vicar in a rustic town -- at bay.

For French, early dreams of becoming a ballerina or an air hostess came to nothing, but the loss to the worlds of dance and aviation was a gain for TV audiences. All of that, of course, is covered in this frequently hilarious and often moving collection. We are invited into her most personal relationships with (among others) her mother and father, her husband (fellow comedian Lenny Henry), and, of course, her most important comedic ally, Jennifer Saunders. Everything French describes -- from the agonies of being a teenager to the death of her father -- and (of course) the way in which society defines her by her generous size -- is treated with a highly diverting insight. Fans of Dawn French's TV appearances will lap it up, but Dear Fatty has a lot more to offer, even to those only vaguely familiar with her. But is anyone in Britain only vaguely familiar with Dawn French? --Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

Great as the Vicar of Dibley, not so great in a book (0/0 people found this helpful)

Unfortunately, unless you're an out and out Dawn French fan this didn't have much to offer. She's great in the Vicar of Dibley but uninspiring on the printed page - makes you think she was just cashing in on her fame. Die-hard fans will probably enjoy it.

A disappointment (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have to say I was a bit let down. I just could'nt wait to finish the thing and get it out of the way. The letters written to people she knows or knew were annoying because the style was'nt consistant. It chopped and changed from a letter to the person about how she feels for them to a letter to the person but about something totally unrelated to the addressee. I'd hoped for a few laughs but appart from the odd funny caption under some photos it failed to raise more than a smile in parts. Could have tried harder.

A little flabby (1/1 people found this helpful)

It might simply be that Dawn French, or at least Dawn French's style of writing, is just not going to be my cup of tea. Ever. I have struggled BIG TIME to wade through the first third, and turning each page feels like a triumph of good will over substantially irritating writing style and flabby content. And I really don't like the structure of the book. This 'Dear Whoever' letters thing, rather than be genuinely revealing, just feels like a device straining against it's own quirkly, clever germ of an idea. Some ideas are only great in themselves, and simply don't work when followed through. And it's a shame - the whole project, I mean - because I'd like to read a biographical piece by Dawn French that took the risk of really being straight Dawn - not the 'in my comfort zone' fat funny woman who writes in her West Country comedy-speak, right down to the 'I s'pect' rather than 'I expect' - you know, so we feel like we're sitting on a comfy sofa with the Vicar of Dibley herself. And I really CAN'T ABIDE the Vicar of Dibley. So, for me, this is very much an unrealised venture and thus rather disappointing, unfunny, and put-downable.

What a fantastic book to read (0/0 people found this helpful)

When i first saw the title of her book i was wondering what this book was going to be about. But how wrong i was, the book was honest and to the point. Her revelations about her past really touched me and brought a few tears to my eyes. You clearly see how important her family are to her. Highly recommended!!!

I love this book (0/0 people found this helpful)

Dawn French is familiar to many people. She is well known for her comedy and for being half of French and Saunders, and as the wonderful Vicar of Dibley.

I personally love reading autobiography, coz I could learn a lot from their life experience. Dear Fatty is mostly about her early days in the Comic Strip, the films she took part in, as well as her recent roles. It is written as a series of letters, to diffrent people, and a large proportion of these are written to her father, who has much affect on her.
It is emotional.

All in all, I recommend this book to everybody, especially who are the fans of Dawn French.

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