Anyone my age (mid-60’s) who was in any way social (ie: went to school), is probably familiar with the comedy group Monty Python and if not their British comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, then there’s got be, at the very least, a passing familiarity with their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, if not a full-fledged knowledge of and quoting favorite lines from said film. And most of the people I know, in addition to quoting entire scenes from the films and the shows, can also name all of the Pythons (and that includes the animator, the women, and others who appeared only occasionally. Among that list, possibly at the top for many, is Eric Idle – who’s apparently decided he needs to put a new addition on his house in Provence, France, hence a book to make some money to do that addition.
In this biography, Idle looks back a little on his career and a lot on his life. The run-down little shack that he fell in love with in France slowly grows into a livable, enjoyable, inviting home just as his personal life also grows and changes. Home disasters (such as fires in the areas around him) seem almost to mirror troubles in his personal life – from struggles to make an income (we hear more than once how the BBC almost paid him something worthwhile) to a marriage that fell apart (“All divorces are miserable. That’s why you don’t have anniversaries for them. It’s like being fouled at football: It hurts like hell, you think the pain will never stop, and yet you get up and carry on playing.”).
But Idle is anything but idle, though he does paint a rather relaxed portrait of himself he stays quite busy, writing, writing songs, and performing. It’s easy to see him as just an average guy – that fun and funny one we all want to hang out with, because, while he won’t buy you a beer, he’ll make you laugh a lot while you buy him one.
Of course, he’s not just an average guy. An average guy doesn’t count George Harrison as one of his best friends or hobnob at Cannes, or frankly even buy a house in Provence. Okay, a shack, turned into a house. But that’s okay. If he were an average guy we probably wouldn’t be interested in reading his story.
For those looking for some Python-esque humor, there is some here, though mostly in the beginning. There’s also less about his relationships with the other members of the troupe than some readers might expect, but this book isn’t so much an autobiography as a reflection on the other parts of his life. We’re all more than what people know us for, and that’s what Idle gives us here – that other part of himself. Even so, there are moments that made me laugh out loud (such as the symbols for kinds of mushrooms).
In some ways it’s hard to label this book. It’s not quite an autobiography – well, it is, but it’s not thorough. It’s more than a memoir and more than an essay. Maybe it’s catharsis? Maybe I was right at the beginning – it’s a nod to wanting to make improvements on the Provence house and this is the way to make the money to make those improvements. But ultimately this is what you want in a non-fiction book by someone of some fame, that isn’t quite an autobiography. A glimpse into a personal life that is more than what we’ve seen on a screen.
Looking for a good book? Idle in Provence by Eric Idle is a charming reflection of a life of someone very familiar and yet someone we really don’t know. It’s not full of laughs like a Monty Python book, but it will make you smile.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
4 stars
* * * * * *
Idle in Provence
author: Eric Idle
publisher: Harper Select
ISBN: 9781400256761
hardcover, 256 pages
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