As a fan of TV programs like the Mighty Boosh and the IT Crowd it was probably inevitable that I pick up Richard Ayoade’s biography which I can’t seem to put down- it seems someone has unfortunately glued my hands to the cover.
From the opening page I had found myself hooked, which is unusual as I normally find myself skipping over the messy acknowledgments and introductions, wanting to get to the juicy bits. ‘Ayoade on Ayoade: a cinematic odyssey’ had me giggling to myself in the middle of a particularly full park, reading the funniest extracts to my disinterested partner who had rolled his eyes and continued to sun himself.
As I read further into the self proclaimed portrait of Ayoade’s life I began to really appreciate his use of footnotes which happily accommodated the third person perspective he had chosen to write in. It was like the ramblings of a coherent madman and I adored it.
His personal timeline is well worth the £9.99 price tag alone: his angry phase in 2004, ‘the age of mystery’ that spanned between 1986 and 1990 and his profound adoration for ‘N Sync. Without sounding like a broken record, Richard’s writing encompasses all my favourite things- sarcasm, adventure and just a dash of mystery, I honestly didn’t know what to expect from one page to the next. It was fresh and exciting and I will be highly recommending it to anybody willing to listen.
Richard, if you’re reading this, please do a handstand, I have a fizzy cola bottle waiting for you.
