Into the Archive: How Very, Very, Very Witty

 

Yesterday, as the evening shades were falling, Andy brought a couple of packages over to me. They were my orders from Amazon, which I did not really expect until the 28^th. So that was a pleasant end to a rather uncomfortable day. They were a couple of items I had on the Wish List for a while, and which checking I found had fallen to more comfortable prices.

The first was Gilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir, by Terry Gilliam (2015, Hardback, 352 pages, Harper). When I first opened it, I thought someone had vandalized the page edges all around by writing ‘ME’ in red marker, but that turned out only to be Gilliam’s book design declaring his subject.

“The screenwriter, innovative animator, highly acclaimed visionary film director, and only non-British member of Monty Python offers an intimate glimpse into his world in this fascinating memoir illustrated with hand-drawn sketches, notes, and memorabilia from his personal archive.

“From his no-frills childhood in the icy wastes of Minnesota, to some of the hottest water Hollywood had to offer, via the cutting edge of 1960s and ’70s counter-culture in New York, L.A. and London, Terry Gilliam’s life has been as vivid, entertaining and unorthodox as one of his films.

“Telling his story for the first time, the director of Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas—not to mention co-founder of Monty Python’s Flying Circus—recalls his life so far. Packed with never-before-seen artwork, photographs and commentary, Gilliamesque blends the visual and the verbal with scabrous wit and fascinating insight.

“Gilliam’s “pre-posthumous memoir” also features a cast of amazing supporting characters—George Harrison, Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger and all of the fellow Pythons—as well as cameo appearances from some of the heaviest cultural hitters of modern times, from Woody Allen to Frank Zappa, Gloria Steinem to Robert Crumb, Richard Nixon to Hunter S. Thompson. Gilliam’s encounters with the great and the not-so-good are revealing, funny, and hugely entertaining.

“This book is an unrestrained look into a unique creative mind and an incomparable portrait of late twentieth-century popular culture.” – Amazon.

The second book was Ustinov: Still at Large, by Peter Ustinov (1993, Hardback, 192 pages, Michael O’Mara Books). For some reason (scatterbrained old me) I thought this was going to be a continuation of his autobiography. I find now that this book is a collection of essays, a sequel of sorts to a similar book, Ustinov at Large (1991), which is not offered on Amazon but which I must now try to get. Luckily, eBay has one for $4.50.

“It has been said that reading Peter Ustinov is like listening to a good story told by an old friend. Ustinov’s gifts as a raconteur have been widely demonstrated both in print and on television so readers of this volume will not be surprised at the ample wit and telling observation displayed in Still at Large.

“These essays, which first appeared in The European, written during Ustinov’s regular perambulations around our planet, take up every subject under the sun from American politicians to Britain’s royals. The moods take in wry humor, indignation, and outright anger. But whatever the mood, Ustinov is always interesting, always caring, and always … well, friendly.” – From the Front Flap.

Opening it, I found to my surprise and joy that Ustinov had autographed it, which is certainly an unexpected bonus. “To Francia (?), Best Wishes, Peter Ustinov.” Of course, the ‘Peter Ustinov’ is rather deduced from the stylized swirls of his handwriting. But it does mean that, whatever the reading experience, it enters my small selection of authors’ autographs.

But I’m not much worried about the quality of the writing. I read the first chapters of both books before going to bed last night, and I can see that I’m in for some engaging hours ahead.