Gok Wan

Having not listened to an audio book before (save for when I was a kid), I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy the format, so in hindsight this was a good one to start with as Gok himself was the narrator. For those not from the UK, Gok Wan is basically a camp Chinese guy who works wonders with women’s dress sense & body confidence, & I love him. I wasn’t expecting much from his autobiography though, as celebrity biographies are ten a penny these days & churned out by ghost writers in a matter show more of days (or so it seems). I’d seen a programme he did on telly a while back, about his own struggles with weight & body image, so I did expect a degree of honesty & openness, but what I got was more than I had anticipated. Gok delves into his struggles with self confidence, battles with eating & difficulties in finding his rightful place in the world on a deeper level than I would have expected. In many ways it was a risk to take whilst he’s still so very much in the spotlight, but I expect he is shrewd enough to know that the fans who love him do so because he has been as damaged as the rest of us & has turned it into a positive. The book isn’t flawless though – it isn’t ever going to win any literacy prizes, & sometimes I wondered if having Gok narrate it had a negative effect as there was no balance...but I guess the same could be said for all autobiographies. What it all boiled down to is that this was a fairly raw memoir, one which I really enjoyed & which only served to fuel my adoration for Gok! show less

This really sounds like Gok has written it, rather than a ghost writer, which is pleasing. I like the exploration of the professional and personal sides of his character - particularly when he describes his tactics for overcoming bullying and how he deals with weight issues and racism.

Wow Gok..I didn't realise he'd been through so much to get to where he is today. The bullying certainly brought back awful memories for me and i know where he's coming from.

Brilliant book and such a warm lovely man.. I especially loved the way he mentioned a little about each important person in his life at the end of a chapter by writing them a letter. also his recipes too..

Go Gok your Fabulous

Don't you just love a rags to riches story? I saw this in the airport and was intrigued. Once I was home I bought the Kindle version and snarfed it down in one greedy gulp. The disarming language was delightful.