Status
Publication
Description
The long-awaited first autobiography by national treasure Bob Mortimer. Bob Mortimer's life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him, but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away... Although his childhood in Middlesbrough was normal on the surface, it was tinged by the loss of his dad, and his own various misadventures (now infamous from his appearances on Would I Lie to You?), from burning down the family home to starting a short-lived punk band called Dog Dirt. As an adult, he trained as a solicitor and moved to London. Though he was doing pretty well (the South London Press once crowned him 'The Cockroach King' after a successful verdict), a chance encounter in a pub in the 1980s with a young comedian going by the name Vic Reeves set his life on a different track. And now, six years on, the heart condition that once threatened his career has instead led to new success on BBC2's Gone Fishing. Warm, profound, and irrepressibly funny, And Away... is Bob's full life story (with a few lies thrown in for good measure.) … (more)
Media reviews
User reviews
So when I saw Bob had written a biography I thought one, it would be a lovely trip down memory lane and two, sure there might be a laugh or two.
What I did not expect was to find how this painfully shy and self-conscious Yorkshire lad stumbled into his career purely to get relief from his solicitor day job. Or how it took him thirty years to feel comfortable playing 'himself' rather than one of his kooky characters. Bob comes across as modest, warm and self depreciating, attributing his success to those comedy legends he happens to have worked with over the years rather than his own comedy bones. What was particularly lovely was how he often talked about his mum and his concerns for her over the years, his wishes he had done more for her while she was alive.
I listened on audio and Bob has a way of narrating his life that feels like you are just having a chat with him down the pub rather than listening to a highly polished production.
Would it be of interest to anyone who wasn’t that a fan of his work or his British comedy pals? Honestly probably not. But it was an easy listen and really shows how by a turn of luck (and then hard work) people’s whole lives can be made.