Believe Me
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts
3.9
(54)
Eddie Izzard
Laura Zigman
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Izzard is one of the funniest people alive, a talented actor, a sharp cross-dresser, an experienced marathon runner, and a great writer. You will have to read this if only to find out what a jazz chicken is."--The Philadelphia Inquirer With his brand of keenly intelligent humor that ranges from world history to historical politics, sexual politics, mad ancient kings, and chickens with guns, Eddie Izzard has built an extraordinary fan base that transcends age, gender, and race. Writing with the same candor and insight evident in his comedy, he reflects on a childhood marked by the loss of his mother, boarding school, and alternative sexuality, as well as a life in comedy, film, politics, running and philanthropy. Honest and generous, Believe Me is an inspired account of a very singular life thus far.
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More Details:
Author
Eddie Izzard
Pages
348
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2017
ISBN
0399175830 9780399175831
Community ReviewsSee all
"@sarah_albertson_1764 has it right, it drags initially, but it drags significantly less if you are listening to the audiobook! The footnotes she interjects throughout the main content of the book are enriching and full of heart and character and humor and OMG I could listen to this every week. Loved this memoir!"
C
CaitVD
"If I'm being honest, the first half of the book kinda dragged along, but it really picks up in the second half, and ended up being really beautiful and moving. 🥰 I love her. ❤️"
Sarah Albertson
"So, I read this on audiobook and that really coloured my opinion. The stories were touching and funny and of course, I love Eddie, but I had to slow the book down to understand what she was saying. So many non sequiturs. I think I missed things just through lack of clarity."
Rebecca McIntosh
"Review cross-posted from <a href="https://books.max-nova.com/believe-me">https://books.max-nova.com/believe-me</a><br/><br/>I love Eddie Izzard's standup. He's clever, historically literate, and deeply self-aware. I found out about his memoir because Bill Gates listed it as one of his favorite books of the year. True to form, Eddie's memoir "Believe Me" is rambling and hilarious. Several sections of the book are surprisingly touching - Eddie's artistic perseverance hit me right in the feels. As he says, the most important part of his success was "stamina, perseverance, and determination." He struggled in the street performer comedy doldrums for ten years before he finally caught his break.<br/><br/>Of course, a portion of the book is devoted to Eddie coming to terms with being a transvestite. But as he stresses himself, the identity that he really cared about was his artistic identity. For him, it was important to embrace his transvestite self, but not nearly as important as finding his artistic self. Part of this book that will stick with me is how Eddie talked about the importance of finding your voice for creating art. It sounds obvious, but as Eddie shows, actually discovering your true artistic voice can be a years-long process.<br/><br/>I listened to the audiobook version of "Believe Me" and it was a treat. Eddie narrates the audiobook himself and even appends additional footnotes to his already pages-long footnotes. His delivery is classic Izzard and it was a great roadtrip book."
Max Nova
"I wanted to like this book more than I did; I found Izzard's prose to be almost clever and engaging, but it never quite got to that point for me."
John Detrick
