 | A WRITER'S WIT |  M. Wise Brown |
MY BOOK WORLD
Norton, Graham. The Life and Loves of a He Devil. London: Hodder, 2014.
This entertaining book by a British “chat show” host (primarily, though he’s trained and performed as an actor and has worked both in NYC and London) is divided into eight sections. These include one on his love of dogs, one on his Irish upbringing, an honest one on his love affair with booze, and perhaps the most fascinating, a section on Divas, and one on Men (you know, as in, “Axe Murderers I Have Known,” but in Norton’s case, “Men I Have F———d”).
Some Quotable Quotes:
“In retrospect, I realise what a privilege it was to be exposed to such a varied and strangely cosmopolitan group [his Irish compatriots] at an early age, as it set me up to be able to talk to anyone and only be intimidated by a very few, as I made my way into the big, bad world” (49).
From “Divas,” after witnessing Liza Minelli sing: “I watched the show from a box to one side of the stage and was as captivated as everyone else. Sure, there were topey sections and she wasn’t the mover or vocalist she had been, but the whole evening was worth it for the moment when she sang a little snatch from ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ for the first time in public [the signature song of her late mother, Judy Garland]” (145).
From “Men” Norton relates this cautionary tale from a friend named Ben: “He had just moved into the first flat he had ever bought and was understandably proud. He spent the afternoon assembling his new bed from Ikea and that night went out to celebrate. And what better way to mark this occasion than by christening his pristine bedroom? He met a man and invited him back. The were getting on very well and . . . had reached a point in the proceedings where a little help was needed, so Ben reached into his beside [sic] cabinet for the lube. They continued. Almost immediately, Ben sensed something was wrong. Things were quite uncomfortable, even painful. He tried to keep going but had to admit defeat. He turned on the light and discovered that he hadn’t taken lube from the drawer; he had in his hand a tube of wood glue” (237).
At any rate, I read this book aloud to my partner, and we both laughed and cried at very nearly the same events. We are amazed at two things about Graham Norton: one, how hard he laboured to get where he is today, and also how much he has accomplished by the age of fifty when this book is published. With his energy and creativity he easily has two more decades in the business if he wants them!
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Rachel Carson
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Meg Wolitzer
THURS: A Writer's Wit | John F. Kennedy
FRI: My Book World | Jonathan Lethem, The Feral Detective
This entertaining book by a British “chat show” host (primarily, though he’s trained and performed as an actor and has worked both in NYC and London) is divided into eight sections. These include one on his love of dogs, one on his Irish upbringing, an honest one on his love affair with booze, and perhaps the most fascinating, a section on Divas, and one on Men (you know, as in, “Axe Murderers I Have Known,” but in Norton’s case, “Men I Have F———d”).
Some Quotable Quotes:
“In retrospect, I realise what a privilege it was to be exposed to such a varied and strangely cosmopolitan group [his Irish compatriots] at an early age, as it set me up to be able to talk to anyone and only be intimidated by a very few, as I made my way into the big, bad world” (49).
From “Divas,” after witnessing Liza Minelli sing: “I watched the show from a box to one side of the stage and was as captivated as everyone else. Sure, there were topey sections and she wasn’t the mover or vocalist she had been, but the whole evening was worth it for the moment when she sang a little snatch from ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ for the first time in public [the signature song of her late mother, Judy Garland]” (145).
From “Men” Norton relates this cautionary tale from a friend named Ben: “He had just moved into the first flat he had ever bought and was understandably proud. He spent the afternoon assembling his new bed from Ikea and that night went out to celebrate. And what better way to mark this occasion than by christening his pristine bedroom? He met a man and invited him back. The were getting on very well and . . . had reached a point in the proceedings where a little help was needed, so Ben reached into his beside [sic] cabinet for the lube. They continued. Almost immediately, Ben sensed something was wrong. Things were quite uncomfortable, even painful. He tried to keep going but had to admit defeat. He turned on the light and discovered that he hadn’t taken lube from the drawer; he had in his hand a tube of wood glue” (237).
At any rate, I read this book aloud to my partner, and we both laughed and cried at very nearly the same events. We are amazed at two things about Graham Norton: one, how hard he laboured to get where he is today, and also how much he has accomplished by the age of fifty when this book is published. With his energy and creativity he easily has two more decades in the business if he wants them!
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Rachel Carson
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Meg Wolitzer
THURS: A Writer's Wit | John F. Kennedy
FRI: My Book World | Jonathan Lethem, The Feral Detective
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