Frank Skinner (1) (1957–)

Book 134 - Frank Skinner - A Comedian’s Prayer Book

Not a title I thought I would ever see … never mind read…Frank Skinner on the spine of a prayer book. Not many know that Skinner is a devout Catholic and this wonderful little book is filled with some of the ‘chats’ he has had with God. Perhaps some think they are slightly irreverent but if you look through the witticisms…look past the casualness of his conversation, there are some real gems … some true, honest, real and show more passionate pleas from the heart.

So let us listen to the’Rev’ Frank…or should that be ‘Father’ Frank…

“I like holding on to that child-heart William Wordsworth suggested we come into this material world still smelling of eternity, but gradually grow further and further away from the core of truth.”

“Faith, I realise, is a privilege, but a privilege with a sell-by-date…when finally confronted by your undeniable amazingness, we will gain absolute and universal certainty and lose all the multi-layered manifestations of individual faith.”

My favourite prayer he repeats in this short book…is one where he describes the children going off to an anteroom to “hear a simpler version of the gospel and respond via the medium of wax-crayon” whilst the adults allow themselves to be lost in a maze of grown-up believing.

So true. show less

A brutally funny self-appraisal of the largely unremarkable life of a very talented man. It is entirely anecdotal and achieves that rare oxymoron: blokish self-awareness.

A delightful little book with prayers written from the point of view of a Roman Catholic TV presenter and comedian. Frank Skinner offers his thoughts, questions and doubts as he addresses God, in all three parts of the Trinity.

It's not a prayer book in the traditional sense, and the prayers are more coherent than most private spontaneous prayers are likely to be. But they address many important issues that are, all too often, glossed over in church circles. The author is quite vulnerable at show more times, and honest in a way that feels quite vulnerable as he directs his concerns and doubts to God.

The style is light-hearted, though the concepts are quite deep in places, and there's some low-key irony here and there. It's not a laugh-aloud book; the 'comedian' in the title refers to the author, not the style of writing.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone looking to question some of the traditional doctrines and beliefs of the church - not in a negative way, but with integrity and honesty.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/06/comediansprayerbookfrankskinner.htm... show less

Skinner can be an interesting, clear and clever writer. He's also revealingly honest when writing about himself. As a result I can't help but find him to be an objectionable little sh*t with some disturbing attitudes towards women.