Book Review: Alan Carr Look Who It Is

Look Who It Is- Alan Carr

When I saw Alan Carr's autobiography in a charity shop, I figured it would be a nice, easy read. I like Alan Carr, and we watch Chatty Man every week, but I'm not exactly a die-hard fan. Nevertheless, I thought this would be a funny book to curl up with.

The first thing of note is that this book was written in 2008, before Alan Carr graced primetime TV. Instead, his story leads up to his time spent on The Friday Night Project. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of it! This caused some problems when he started discussing his co-star Justin, assuming the reader already knew a lot of the background of the show. It was a good few pages before he revealed that this was Justin Lee Collins. Throughout the book, there was this frustrating assumption that the reader knew a lot more than I did. Of course, it's safe to assume that anybody reading the book would be a fan of Alan Carr, but a little explanation of key points wouldn't have gone amiss.

Luckily, most of the book is concerned with Carr's upbringing, so the majority of the book isn't alienating to casual fans. It was very easy to read in his voice, which made the experience both surreal and humorous. There were some witty one-liners, but I almost expected to laugh a lot more than I did. Perhaps his humour just didn't come across as well on page.

As I was reading, I began to wonder whether Carr had written the book himself or with the help of a ghostwriter. He mentioned that he has a huge love of reading, and there was the odd phrase that didn't quite sit well. This led me to believe that it was his own writing, and I have a lot of respect for that. Then again, I may be completely wrong! 

All in all, it was a fairly entertaining read. Would I recommend it? Not unless you were a big fan. It just didn't hold my attention enough for me to really get into it.