End of long windy footnote

Knocking off 1 star due to the dearth of Jazz chickens

Seriously though, I loved Eddie Izzard’s Dressed to Kill (saw it in the early 2000s as a teenager, probably downloaded illegally by a then-boyfriend), and my enjoyment of that resulted in my listening to this audiobook (highly recommended, vs the print version, for Anglophiles in general). It starts off a bit slow, and seemed more self-congratulatory than I was expecting, but I’m glad I kept on because the entire work just made me appreciate Eddie Izzard all the more (especially since I’ve known multiple friends who have come out as transgender since my tender teenage years). Why shouldn’t s/he be a bit self-congratulatory? We all should, when we’ve worked damn hard to make our goals a reality. I think the rambling extra-windy footnotes are another bonus to the audio version.

Inspiring and great, but I couldn't listen to it again, his style is a little frenetic for my brain.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

Back when BBC America show actually British shows instead of movies and Star Trek, I saw my first Eddie Izzard show.

He made me laugh so hard.

To call this book a straight forward autobiography or memoir is slightly incorrect. While the progression in the work is somewhat linear, there are digressions, and in some places, you go two steps back after one step forward.

This doesn’t mean the book is bad. It isn’t. In fact, it is like Izzard is there talking just to you. So, it is really nice.

The other thing is that Izzard is not one of those stars who celebrate or shoves his celebrity in his face. He does not make himself sound extra special or anything like that. He is, in fact, every day, everybody. So, when he discusses his struggles to come to terms with himself, to find himself, to succeed, he is in many ways just like you. Look, I don’t know what it is like to be transgender or TV as Eddie Izzard calls it. Yet, for a straight woman who doesn’t like to wear heels, there is much here. Izzard’s writing lacks that self-inflation that sometimes infuses memoirs. In part, the book feels like he is still trying to figure himself out, and on another level, it gives me the same feeling that reading Pancakes in Paris did. Everyone struggles to discover who they are and make peace with it. Most struggles are different yet similarly. (Yes, I know it is oxymoron).

There are funny insights here too – for instance “Wasps are actually like The Borg from Star Trek” or how real football is more American than people think it is. “Stinging nettles are the Nazis of the weed world”.

And he is so right about warm milk. Warm milk is just wrong in so many different ways.

And Mr. Izzard, you are not the only vomiter, just saying.

The book isn’t just humor – though Izzard’s humor is on full display, it is full of introspection and touching passages. When Izzard discusses his relationship to his step-mother, in particular his attending concerts with her, the emotion shines though. It is a rather intimate and touching story.

Even if you are not an Eddie Izzard fan (and you should be), you will enjoy this touching memoir.

Loved it!*

* Very long and winding footnote...**
** Footnote of a footnote, also very long (but it may feel shorter if you read it fast.)***
*** Footnote of a footnote of a footnote with another footnote of a footnote! Also, let me Google this for you in a real time! And we're back in... footnote! :)

What a great ride! Listening to Izzard read his book (and his crazy footnotes! Are any of these in the actual book???) was like getting to know him in a way that could only be achieved by spending hours with someone as they told their story. He has so much to share with respect to how to set goals, how to persevere and how to be true to yourself.

Izzard is funny and poignant, insightful and genuine. I'm so happy I read this book.

This book was hard to get into at first, just because I felt Eddie really didn't know what was important which got exhausting (especially if you listened to the audiobook, which I did, because I wanted every ounce of information available) but around halfway through I really started enjoying it. As an almost-graduate and theatre practitioner who questions if I made the right decision, it was very enlightening to hear about Eddie's journey. I am their forever fan.

Very enjoyable. I highly recommend the audio edition. You get all sorts of extra narration.

A bit rambling and jumping-around, overall, much like his comedy. Could be hard to follow, in places. This is not a strictly chronological account, and there's a fair amount of overlap, in time and theme and linked events.

An extraordinary memoir from an extraordinary person.

The more you have seen Izzard's stand-up, the more you will read this book in the proper dry voice. If you have not enjoyed his stand-up, then this will come across as a very blase telling of a pretty mundane story. I started reading in my own voice, and dozed off. When I began "translating" it into his voice and "listening" to him tell it, it got more enjoyable. Unfortunately, that was rather hard to do, and I had to put it down.

If there is an audiobook of this read by Izzard, it's probably brilliant. Oddly, he does not translate well (in this book) to the page.