Frankie Boyle

My Shit Life so Far by Frankie Boyle

This is a simple review really. Do you find Mr. Boyle's Stand up funny? Then you'll like the book. Do you think he's a vulgar bully? Then you won't like the book. What about if you think he's funny, definitley vulgar but you're still sitting in judgement about the bully part? Then you'll enjoy it with the occasional nagging doubt that you shouldn't be laughing. If you're anything like me you'll shake off that feeling with the justification that humour is all about transcending boundaries, whether that be of taste, reality or social norms. Why is someone falling over funny? Its not the done thing in normal society so it is inherently ridiculous plus we're glad its not us. Why is Python funny? Its bizarre and the manner in which it doesn't match reality makes it ridiculous. Why are Frankie's jokes funny? They're past the boundaries of taste and aren't said in polite society. Its the same as the falling over. Its not the done thing in normal society and you're really glad this time that its not you involved in the joke. Just a quick theory of humour there, which I shall be looking to develop as time goes on.

Apart from the expected tasteless jokes about all and sundry I was also surprise by the warmth in parts of the book. I'm sure that this has snuck into the book under the radar but its there. In particular the part where Frankie is speaking about homeless folk. We're all only a couple of paychecks away from there ourselves and he suggests its this fear that we could so easily slip off society's rungs that leads to our fear and distrust of the homeless. He also says that walking past these folks every day is damaging our society. Its in our nature to have compassion and we are stamping it down on a daily basis. Quite some interesting thoughts there in amongst all the filth.

Even after reading the book I couldn't tell you anything particualr about his life. It seemed pretty uneventful, Even the hedonistic druggie days were kinda dull but the jokes surrounding it make up for it. The overall image of Frankie Boyle I get from the book is an angry guy, who wants to be seen as a misanthrope but deep down he cares for the little folk who get crapped on, even as he gets angry at them for letting it happen to them and for others for doing the defecating. Basically Frankie Boyle is Spider Jersualem but without the filthy assistants.

So after reading that my bookshelf position is 2687.

Image found here