The Sound of Laughter

To me reading is a serious pursuit, but every so often I pick up what I would call a frothy book - a light-hearted read, something to have a laugh at between more serious matter.

Sadly this one was just too much froth. For such an accomplished comedian the stories he tells are rarely funny and the incidents he explains leave you asking just two words "So what".

The book mainly deals with Kay's attempts to learn to drive, his process of growing up in an unremarkable family where he wasn't beaten, abused or from which he wasn't expelled. It deals with his life in a convent school, the way he tricked his way into university and the seemingly interminable mundane jobs that he acquired and subsequently lost. It made me answer the question "was this man really employable." You have to ask yourself just how funny Kay can make working in a bingo hall and sadly the answer is not very.

He also has the annoying knack of telling us in parenthesis when he is joking. There are no revelations here and the book rally is a ball of froth. Of course Kay has has his mind on the next buck by leaving enough out of this to ensure that there will be a volume 2.

If you want to read a book about growing up within a loving family go for The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson which brilliantly explains why Bryson is a writer and Kay is a stand up comedian

The Sound of Laughter (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have read a number of feedback comments on this book and l must say l can see what a number of people mean when they say it is not the Peter Kay stand up comic we see on tv....

However in my opinion it is a funny book and told well with lots of humour, some of the things he got upto in his youth does make you laugh out loud and l enjoyed the read...not a 5 star book though !

In One Go (0/0 people found this helpful)

this boko was so good i read it in one sitting! excellent, and have read it since. very funny, but only read if your a fan of the man himself, it is his stand up material in rint form

Very funny...what u can expect from this comedey genius (0/0 people found this helpful)

this is a great read, and i really do strongly disagree with the bad reviews on this site. i dont want to spoil it so i'll keep quiet. only thing that stopped me giving 5 stars was a few spelling mistakes which souldnt really be acceptable. but a gr8 book all the same...1 to relax to.

4 p.m till raid.. (0/0 people found this helpful)

I loved this book! it is exactly how i imagined it to be, truthfull, down to earth and funny! I am not at all dissapointed:D
i would deff read it agen!!

The Sound of Laughter

Peter Kay

Reader Reviews:

Light-Hearted Read (0/0 people found this helpful)