More Fool Me

By: Stephen Fry

Narrated by: Stephen Fry

Brought to you by Penguin

Following on from his hugely successful first book, The Fry Chronicles, comes the second chapter in Stephen Fry's life. This unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of More Fool Me is read by Stephen Fry himself.

'Oh dear I am an arse. I expect there'll be what I believe is called an "intervention" soon. I keep picturing it. All my friends bearing down on me and me denying everything until my pockets are emptied. Oh the shame'

In his early thirties, Stephen Fry - writer, comedian, star of stage and screen - had, as they say, 'made it'. Much loved in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster, author of a critically acclaimed and bestselling first novel, The Liar, with a glamorous and glittering cast of friends, he had more work than was perhaps good for him.

What could possibly go wrong?

Then, as the 80s drew to a close, he discovered a most enjoyable way to burn the candle at both ends, and took to excess like a duck to breadcrumbs. Writing and recording by day, and haunting a never ending series of celebrity parties, drinking dens, and poker games by night, in a ludicrous and impressive act of bravado, he fooled all those except the very closest to him, some of whom were most enjoyably engaged in the same dance.

He was - to all intents and purposes - a high functioning addict. Blazing brightly and partying wildly as the 80s turned to the 90s, AIDS became an epidemic and politics turned really nasty, he was so busy, so distracted by the high life, that he could hardly see the inevitable, headlong tumble that must surely follow . . .

Containing raw, electric extracts from his diaries of the time, More Fool Me is a brilliant, eloquent account by a man driven to create and to entertain - revealing a side to him he has long kept hidden.

Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and Wooster, and was unforgettable as Captain Melchett in Blackadder. He also presented Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, his groundbreaking documentary on bipolar disorder, to huge critical acclaim.

©2014 Stephen Fry (P)2014 Penguin Audio

An interesting life

Always a joy to listen to whatever the topic but when it's about a life as interesting as his - well...

Another compelling volume

If you could sum up More Fool Me in three words, what would they be?

Funny and Compelling, I have read all of Stephen Fry's Novels and this prior memoirs and this is a great addition.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Stephen of Course!

Which character – as performed by Stephen Fry – was your favorite?

Well, of them this is a memoir

Any additional comments?

Read/ Listen to his novels first if you are going to as this book does contain spoilers

Excellent

I read so many bad reviews I almost didn't read this book- so glad I did. I absolutely love Stephen Fry's command of English. Listening to this felt like having a chat with him, quite intimate.

Just skip the diary part

I read two last parts of Stephen Fry's autobiography, and I can't say that the beginning of this one is a repeating of Moab Is My Washpot or The Fry Chronicles. It is more like a view from the other side; it adds a new angle to the story.

What followed next made me laugh and sigh and feel emotionally involved in every way: it is everything that people love in Stephen Fry's books. The narrator is heartbreakingly sincere. The plot is filled with unexpected turns and combines both the lowest and the highest, descriptions of taking cocaine (very enlightening, by the way, for a non-addict) and meeting with the Prince of Wales.

And then the diary part starts. The excerpts of the actual diary of Fry take from 1/3 to 1/2 of the book (the last part), they seem OK in the beginning, but then you become more and more bored. It is not easy to explain why: the average day is far more than most of us experience. It is filled with events, dinners, clubs, high-society meetings, but it is just boring. It lacks internal thoughts and feelings that we value in diaries, and it is more like a plain description of events.

All in all, highly recommended, but be prepared for listening to (or skipping) somewhat tedious diary entries in the end.

Probably not worth it if you've read the others

What did you like best about More Fool Me? What did you like least?

Stephen Fry's performance is good, but the book seems slightly rushed and contains lots of 'filler'.

The book is almost split in to varying thirds:
- First third: Going over details and stories from the previous 2 books.
- Second third: Some new info and anecdotes (although a lot of them I'd already heard on various tv shows and during promotional stuff for the book).
- Final third: Just reading from his diary. No newly written content. While some of the stories were interesting, I'm not too bothered about what SF had for breakfast/lunch/dinner/drinks and when he went to bed on any given day.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More anecdotes and original writing. Less goign over old stuff and just reading from old diaries.

What about Stephen Fry’s performance did you like?

Excellent, as always.

Do you think More Fool Me needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, but not yet, and in a format more similar to the first two books.

Extremely entertaining

Wonderful book. Full summation of previous delights. Highly recommended. Wonderful insights of life from a delightful mind.

A lovely listen

It's great listening to Stephen Fry narrating his own work - I loved his insight into his own life.

The only disappointment for me was his reliance on diary excerpts towards the end. It was interesting having a view into his life in 1993 but I would have preferred more current commentary and analysis of what happened.

Good start but poor end

I very much enjoy Stephen Fry's books, but only enjoyed the first 2/3 of this one. The remainder is a very long and repetitious diary extract when could have been wrapped up in a few pages. Too much illustration of why the book is so tiitled

another gorgeously written book by Fry

One of the kindest, sweetest, most ethical, gentle and fascinating human beings on the planet talking more about his life. A wordsmith it is a pleasure to listen to, even as you cringe at his self loathing. Stephen Fry, you are a legend and we love you xx

a nice way to spend a credit

good book, better if you read the hippopotamus as it delves into its writing process