Week three of conjunctivitis and colds and with a day off to recharge the system, tucked in to Stephen Fry's Chronicles. This is the second in a series of autobiography. We pick up from Moab Is My Washpot's conclusion with Fry entering Cambridge University after a colourful few years of boarding schools, thievery and prison.
Enjoyed the candy/sweet obsession. Fry recounts the selection available at the forbidden corner shop of his boarding school years. I was reminded of my local shop and the times I took a handful of half pennies to get a mix bag of the very same sweets. Memory lane.
If you have any appreciation for comedy, personal history or intelligent writing then Chronicles is for you. Name dropping to great effect as Fry recounts his Cambridge years, early days at the BBC, radio, Broadway and beyond. Side splitting moments at his and other people's expense. I do not think you'll find a more honest writer out there. Lots of tangents and that adds to the charm. It is not merely a time line regurgitation. With the BBC under scrutiny at the moment, it is interesting to get Fry's perspective of the institution in the early eighties.
I was initially disappointed that the book ended when it did as you're left chomping at the bit. I wait patiently for Volume III- the start of A Bit of Fry and Laurie and another of Fry's dalliances, cocaine.
After the read, I hauled out Blackadder, The Young Ones (fortunate to have Bambi in the collection), Emma Thompson's films (including The Tall Guy) and polished off the week with Wilde, starring the man himself.
For more on Fry, do visit his website stephenfry.com
You do not have to be a Fry fan to appreciate the novels, travelogues or collections.
Try Fry. Worth the splurge.
