Josh Brolin

I picked this up because my older brother was reading it and, halfway through, said he already knew he'd re-read it. That's a pretty good testament for a memoir, so I thought, "Why not?"
Although I've seen Brolin in a thing or two, I'm largely unfamiliar with his work. I think, for that reason, much of what he talks about in his book went right over my head. When he references people or jobs he's done, etc., it goes by quickly, while I'm locked into the specific event he's discussing at that show more moment. Because it's an audiobook, I didn't take the time (while driving!) to back it up and remind myself, "which project was this?" or "which Hollywood great is he talking about this time?"

That being said, I'm definitely inclined to want to watch a lot more of his stuff. In all honesty, I haven't seen much that his father has done, either. But I'm intrigued by the person who wrote the memoir vs. the characters he plays.

I sort of struggled with the book format. He jumps around, giving approximate dates each time. It becomes clear that he's grabbing random pages from his personal journals (which he's apparently written in since childhood), putting them in a seemingly random order. Perhaps he had a method to that madness--I'm not entirely sure. If so, I didn't pick up on it. (But, like my brother, I'll probably re-read it at some point.) However, I have to admit that, if I were writing up my own memoirs, which I'd like to do someday (for my kids, not for the public), I imagine mine would be similar. I like to think I'd do my best to keep everything in chronological order--but that's my personal preference. I'm sure Brolin and his agent/publicist thought "this will be a refreshing way to present this info!" I got used to it, sort of.

The content itself was pretty fabulous. I got a real feel for the kind of person I imagine Brolin to be--soft on the inside with a hard, crusty outside. He certainly has a flair for writing! His work is on the poetic side. He definitely pains a picture with his words, and I have to say that it's a delight reading someone who clearly has a love for the craft.

I'm off to watch a few more of his films, and maybe give the book another go-round! show less