Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle – A Review

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle
Memoir | Non-Fiction
Goodreads | Amazon
Published by Crown Archetype
Released October 2, 2018
Rating:

I don’t remember how old I was when I was first introduced to Monty Python, but I’ve been a fan for a very long time. Flying Circus, Life of Brian, Holy Grail… I love them all and have watched them too many times to accurately count.

Fun story: In tenth grade, I took European history, which at the time was being taught by the football coach, and it was very obvious that he didn’t have a background in history. When we got to medieval Europe, he showed us Monty Python and the Holy Grail to show us what England was like during that era. Obviously, we didn’t learn much during that class, but at least we got to watch a great movie.

Eric Idle’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is a hilarious and interesting look back at his life, his friendships with celebrities such as George Harrison and David Bowie, and a behind-the-scenes look at Monty Python.

I both read the physical book and listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Idle himself. Both are equally amazing. The audiobook is hilarious, and I found myself laughing so many times. The physical book is just as interesting, with tons of photos throughout it. If I had to recommend just one, however, go with the audiobook. It’s perfect.

At times, the celebrity name-dropping felt a little overwhelming and grew tired, but overall I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the life of a member of a comedy group that I basically grew up watching.

I’ll leave you to watch this clip from Life of Brian (which, by the way, is my favorite Monty Python movie), in case you aren’t aware of where the title of this memoir came from.