Hit and miss
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Louis Theroux's television persona and subject matter are always engaging, warm and interesting. He comes across as a thoroughly nice chap and treats his weird and wonderful subjects with dignity and respect. His book, a contituation of the meetings he had continues in this vein and very readable it is. However he doesn't really delve as well as you had hoped and and you are left wondering "Is that all I get".
Probably best as an introduction to Louis' weird world. If you have seen the TV shows you may end up disappointed.
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Brilliant read!
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This book is undeniably fun and VERY entertaining! There is very little else to say. Definetly worth a read!
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Ok, not great
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I have to say I would give this 3-4 stars, I didn't enjoy the book anywhere as much as his series. I am a fan on his documentarys however it does not necessarily transfer too well to book, perhaps because you see everything through his eyes (or indeed words) rather than for yourself and this has obvious bias. It is interesting to read what eh personally thinks though and I do think it was a well written book if a little disjointed. I would certainly recommend it to any fan but if you're not especially keen on Louis then probably not one for you.
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If you were a fan of the TV series,,,
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If you were a fan of the TV series, and you are interested in what happened to the people who he interviewed, then by all means this book is for you.
For me, however, this book was a little disappointing. While it does explore the gaps between Louis' previous meetings with these characters and their recent meetings, there is little character exploration or in-depth discussion about these people and what makes them who they are. There are brief summaries of their previous meetings and why Louis was drawn to them, but at the end of the book this leaves you with little. Unfortunately, it also results in these catch-ups becoming trite and somewhat grating. While in the TV series these aspects would have been neccesary, Louis seems to feel that because of the nature of this book their ommision is no problem. I disagree.
Even for fans of the TV series, there is probably little new ground here. This might not be a problem for some, but it leaves the book somewhat lacking in a genre where books regarding the examination of gonzo characters are now in abundance. For newcomers to Theroux like myself, my advice would be to buy the DVD instead.
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Enjoyable
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I like Louis Theroux's sense of humour but I did find him a little whiney at times in the book. Don't get me wrong I found it very enjoyable but sometimes Louis gets a bit too involved in his subjects and spent more time worrying about whether they liked him or not. Thats why I've only awarded 4 stars. Louis seemed to have an effection for the subjects (except the strange Ike Turner!) no matter how weird or out there their views were. There could have been a few more chapters in the book - it was a bit short. The book was very funny in parts and the style of writing made it a good pick up put down book. Good effort.
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