Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life - Couverture souple

Martin, Steve

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1847391486 ISBN 13 : 9781847391483

Editeur : Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2008

Synopsis

Book by Steve Martin

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

“Yeah. I just read Steve Martin’s memoir of his standup years. Did you read it? Ahhh! It’s absolutely magnificent. I just finished it last night. And I kept having to put it down for weeks, because I was inhaling it. It was just so good. One of the best books about comedy and being a comedian ever written. I think we captured a bit of it in that documentary [2002’s Comedian]. But this is the perfect companion to it. I had no idea what this guy suffered ‘til he finally figured out that character, and that style. Oh, it’s an incredible story. I’d have to stay it’s the most remarkable story of a comedy career. ” Jerry Seinfeld
'Not just the story of his career in stand-up, Martin includes his relationship with his impossible-to-please father, his hippy years, meeting Elvis, and making a hash out of dating Linda Ronstadt. He also outlines the logic behind his craft, which began with cocked-up magic tricks to audiences of, literally, zero. An excessive determination to be serious was the ruin of Martin as a comedian, but in this eloquently-turned volume, it's a blessing' Arena magazine Dec '07
'Lucidly written and unflinchingly honest... This intricately detailed tale of the lows of a life in comedy is for those who care to understand the man behind the grin'
London Evening Standard
'fascinating'
Sunday Times
'Fascinating... Incredibly moving'
Sunday Times 18/11
'A beautifully, even poetically, written memoir'
Daily Express 23/11
'"Doing comedy alone on stage is the ego's last stand," writes Steve Martin in Born Standing Up. That makes this memoir a testimonial for Steve's retired ego – he quit stand-up in the 70s – but a richly deserved one'
Andy Miller, Humour Books of the Year Daily Telegraph 24/11
'In his memoir, Steve Martin kids that he was Born Standing Up'
Vanity Fair, Dec '07
'The book is very droll, even when describing difficult moments... Martin emerges from this memoir as a character both sympathetic and anguished. He can write, as one would expect of a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and be funny on the page'
Sunday Herald 18/11
'This autobiography explores Martin's rising fame as a stand-up comedian and his decision to quit the scene altogether, weaving anecdotes, jokes and asides into a fascinating narrative. Martin isn't as candid about his personal life as some might like, but for anyone interested in the realities of stand-up, this is a must'
The Leeds Guide 28/11
'[Martin] opts to sign off with the deaths of his parents. It's a powerful ending, but doubtless, like some of those electric early gigs, when he'd take his show onto the streets and lead the audience into rival clubs and swimming pools (drained ones), it leaves you wanting more'
Scotland on Sunday 18/11
'This intricately detailed tale of the lows and the lows of a life in comedy is for those who care to understand the man behind the grin'
4 stars London Lite 27/11
'Martin's touchingly, superbly written book... Let's hope this fascinating man offers us a second volume on the latter period in his career. If it is anything like as honest, insightful and revealing as these memoirs, we'll be in for a treat'
Mail on Sunday 2/12
'Even if it is not particularly funny, Steve Martin's autobiography is nevertheless compelling... He falls into that category of performers who are earnest technicians of laughter. He is a comedy craftsman'
Observer 2/12
'I can recommend with much enthusiasm... Steve Martin's unexpectedly poignant/ expectedly funny memoir Born Standing Up'
Joyce Carol Oates, Books of the Year TLS 30/11
'Less a collection of glittering showbiz anecdotes, more a memoir of his relationship with comedy itself, this is the most charming of the autumn's autobiographies... [exudes] a sincerity lacking in so many memoirs written for cash or attention. Fascinating when writing about his difficult relationship with his father and the evolution of his comedic style, Martin nevertheless remembers to be funny throughout'
Alexandra Heminsley, TheLondonPaper
'He captures the flavour of the thrill and the fear of a profession where success is measured in waves of hilarity and failure is the silence of a lonely room and an indifferent crowd. Born Standing Up is a modest book, but it is filled with sweet remembrance'
Glasgow Herald 24/11

'Great comedy and psychological problems normally go together like Bill Hicks and nicotine. Nice guy Steve Martin's 'funny but weird' schtick means he's pulled off the near impossible by delivering original, occasionally brilliant material, without ever turning into an out and out nut. His look back at his career - from a first job selling guidebooks at Disneyland via self-taught magic tricks, banjo playing, then stand-up comedy and international fame - resists the temptation of riding the ego rollercoaster. Instead, his calm, self-effacing delivery skilfully down plays the excitement and surrealism of the life he's led, making for a rich, very entertaining memoir... A pleasure to read'
The List 29/11
'Packed with anecdotes, and advice, which will be valuable to any performer particularly stand-up magicians. At £15.99 it's an affordable investment - not to be missed'
Magic Circular
'This entertaining book shines brightest in its casual, off-hand remarks, often transcribed from Martin's own routines: "I think communication is so firsbern." What? Oh.'
New Statesman 7/1
'Brilliant'
Jonathan Ross, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross BBC1
'I like a good showbiz biography. I don't care if it's serious analysis or a hack job. I love tales of wilderness years, empty theatres, agents saying you'll never amount to anything, etc (though ones with tragic endings have me shouting "for pity's sake, die!"). This year I'll go for Steve martin's Born Standing Up, a melancholy book about when he was a stand-up , and an incredible insight into my profession'
MY CHRISTMAS CLASSIC Al Murray - Pub Landlord The Times 8/12
'Throughout Born Standing Up, Martin never loses his focus, whether it's talking about his relationships, parental acceptance or what makes him tick. Not many people could get away with the phrase "existentially exhausted" or describe rolling with their act "up a hill like Sisyphus." Wild, yes. Crazy? Never'
Independent 13/2
'Short, beautifully written and with fascinating insight in to the craft of comedy, it is an incredibly honest chronicle, the self-deprecating anecdotes helping to punctuate a poetic account of his struggles with anxiety attacks and the pivotal, troubled relationship he had with his father, who remained a brooding, critical influence on him, until shortly before a poignantly rendered reconciliation before his death.... The humour is unrelenting'
Irish Examiner 2/2
'Beautifully written.... this slim and elegant volume abounds with phrases that make the reader purr with pleasure'
Sunday Tribune (Ireland) 3/2
"The best autobiography I've ever read. He's so elegant and the whole thing's beautifully written" Jerry Hall, Independent Magazine, 22 March 08 (choosing Born Standing Up as 'A Book That Changed Me')
‘In the 1970s, Martin was one of the most successful stand-up comedians of his generation, yet, as this memoir reveals, he was far from being an overnight sensation. His act – an eclectic mix of magic tricks, banjo playing and surreal comedy – was honed over many years in America’s folk clubs and took more than a decade to perfect’ Sunday Times 13/07

Extrait :

Born Standing Up

Beforehand

I DID STAND-UP COMEDY for eighteen years. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success. My most persistent memory of stand-up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while performing was rare—enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that comedy cannot afford. After the shows, however, I experienced long hours of elation or misery depending on how the show went, because doing comedy alone onstage is the ego’s last stand.

My decade is the seventies, with several years extending on either side. Though my general recall of the period is precise, my memory of specific shows is faint. I stood onstage, blinded by lights, looking into blackness, which made every place the same. Darkness is essential: If light is thrown on the audience, they don’t laugh; I might as well have told them to sit still and be quiet. The audience necessarily remained a thing unseen except for a few front rows, where one sourpuss could send me into panic and desperation. The comedian’s slang for a successful show is “I murdered them,” which I’m sure came about because you finally realize that the audience is capable of murdering you.

Stand-up is seldom performed in ideal circumstances. Comedy’s enemy is distraction, and rarely do comedians get a pristine performing environment. I worried about the sound system, ambient noise, hecklers, drunks, lighting, sudden clangs, latecomers, and loud talkers, not to mention the nagging concern “Is this funny?” Yet the seedier the circumstances, the funnier one can be. I suppose these worries keep the mind sharp and the senses active. I can remember instantly retiming a punch line to fit around the crash of a dropped glass of wine, or raising my voice to cover a patron’s ill-timed sneeze, seemingly microseconds before the interruption happened.

I was seeking comic originality, and fame fell on me as a by-product. The course was more plodding than heroic: I did not strive valiantly against doubters but took incremental steps studded with a few intuitive leaps. I was not naturally talented—I didn’t sing, dance, or act—though working around that minor detail made me inventive. I was not self-destructive, though I almost destroyed myself. In the end, I turned away from stand-up with a tired swivel of my head and never looked back, until now. A few years ago, I began researching and recalling the details of this crucial part of my professional life—which inevitably touches upon my personal life—and was reminded why I did stand-up and why I walked away.

In a sense, this book is not an autobiography but a biography, because I am writing about someone I used to know. Yes, these events are true, yet sometimes they seemed to have happened to someone else, and I often felt like a curious onlooker or someone trying to remember a dream. I ignored my stand-up career for twenty-five years, but now, having finished this memoir, I view this time with surprising warmth. One can have, it turns out, an affection for the war years.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Date d'édition: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1847391486
• ISBN 13: 9781847391483
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 224