Alan Davies (3) (1966–)

Wow. Just wow.

Like everyone else, I know Alan Davies as a comedian and actor, the perennial naughty boy in class on QI making Sandi or Stephen laugh. So reading this book was a bit of a shock.

Right up front I'll tell you the book is largely concerned with three things: the lasting grief of his mother's death when Alan was only 6; the physical, sexual and emotional abuse he experienced at his father's hands; and how those things had an impact on his whole life.

I was so very impressed with how show more frank and open Alan was in this book, how grief-stricken and raw he still is how willing to examine misogyny and homophobia in his early life. He looks back at these events from childhood as a grown man with children, with compassion for his younger self, with a sharp, clear eye. show less

A beautifully written memoir of a terrible childhood. Hard going, it reveals how much can be hidden behind the closed doors of suburbia and the dreadful toll taken by suppressing truth. Unputdownable.