I'm a Joke and So Are You: A Comedian’s Take on What Makes Us Human by Robin InceMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Robin Ince is a really thoughtful individual and applies his normal level of intimate enquiry and consideration into exploring the psychology behind comedians. Is it true they're all prone to depression in their own lives? Are there particular types of person that lend themselves better to comedy than others? Does an unhappy childhood make for better material in later life than a happy childhood?
Ince goes on to further explore the nature of offensive jokes and why we laugh at them, why we suffer from anxiety, how to deal with grief and the nature of the comical creativity amongst many other interesting and thought provoking assumptions and traits of the stand up comedian.
Robin uses a mixture of sources from psychologist, therapist and professional interviews and texts, to interviews with many comedians including Ricky Gervais, Tim Minchin, Sara Pascoe, Lenny Henry and more, each of whom provides a unique perspective into the realm of stand up comedy and what makes it work for them. Robin is is able to combine this with drawing upon his own experience as a touring stand-up and work as a creative, plus insights from his overactive imagination and mind to really help him to delve deeply into what makes the stand-up comic really tick.
Superbly written, referenced and organised with really interesting sources and anecdotes done in the typically witty and imaginative fashion we've come to know and love from Robin Ince's work. If you've a remote interest in the workings of the human mind and a love of stand up comedy, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Excellent.
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