The title is "Living With Billy Connolly"
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so to me it seems reasonable that the book has been written by and from his wife's view and experiences. I really enjoyed "Billy" even though bits of it were depressing. As with "Billy" there were moments when I was bursting into laughter often enough that my husband asked me to read aloud whatever was so funny. I think the travels to India were important as alot of it had to do with the "Tickety-Boo" tea houses supported by Billy's charity, so to me it was relavent even if long winded. I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed reading "Billy" but if you want another biography...re-read "Billy" not this one.
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Not for Billy Connolly fans
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The previous comments sum this book up perfectly.
I bought a book about Billy Connolly to read about Billy Connolly.
Who cares about Pamela Stephenson's own travels through India?
How she chooses to decorate the interior of her Maltese house?
How she misses Australia so much, especially the food?
The history of the Maltese Knights of Valletta?
How she began her stage career at 5 years old in a ballet production of the teddy bear's picnic?
and wet herself on stage?
How she once had to do a scene that involved taking down someones trousers on TV?
Her experiences feeding sharks in Bora Bora?
Who cares? I dont want to know any of this stuff, but I have to wade through pages of it to get to the good stuff.
She spends pages telling you how she researched transgendered people in Samoa! People who cut their own genitals off. She basically rehashes stuff that she has read in a other book, passing it off as professional research, and you are never going to forget that she is a psychologist because she reminds you of that fact at least once every 2 pages, and on the back cover. At least 30% of this book has nothing whatsoever to do with Billy Connolly.
This book is a vehicle for her, and its such a shame as, the events in Billy Connolly's 60th year sound so interesting. If only she would stick to the point, and realise that being married to an interesting person does not make your life interesting too.
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What a shame
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Billy Connolly is brilliant. I love his cutting, flamboyant, insightful and wonderfully funny sense of humour. What I do not like is his dear wife using a book supposedly about him to tell us all about herself and her experiences. And that sums this book up really. I'm sure Pamela is a very interesting woman, but I want to hear about Billy.
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Pseuds Corner
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I'm at a loss to understand exactly what the point of this book is; Ms Stephenson is truly awful. One particular sentence struck me as such pretentious drivel that I had to fold down the page so I could read it back to friends and family at various intervals, all of whom joined in my hysteria. I've already seen a paragraph from this book make an appearance in the satirical magazine Private Eye's 'Pseuds Corner', and deservedly so. It's hard to decide whether Stephenson is merely trying to ride on the back of her husband's success or mask a morality lesson in the depths of a name-dropping prentension-fest. Quite frankly I couldn't have given a damn about her travels in India, and didn't care for her style of attempting to humour bleak situations by re-hashing bits of Connolly's stage show at opportune moments. I love Billy's stand-up comedy, and the first biography was passable, but after skipping through more than one yawn-inducing section of this book, I can't honestly remember if I even read the last page. What an incongruous couple 'Doctor and Doctor Connolly' make. He's your husband, Pamsy, not a performing seal who just happens to have famous pals. Give him and your family some credit. (Oh, and just out of interest, there is no such aircraft as a '767 Airbus')
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Brilliant!
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I'm completely baffled by the other reviews of this book. I loved 'Billy' and I love this almost as much! I found the insight into the Connolly's lives fascinating, as they appear to be a friendly and likeable group. Far from criticising Pamela's writing, I found it refreshing and engaging. Her talents as a comedienne in her own right shine through, as does her love for her eccentric husband. Packed with anecdotes, I laughed out loud at this book. Other criticisms include the self indulgence of Pamela's description of her and her daughters' trip to India. As it is quite obvious that Billy would not be the man he is (and we all love) without Pamela, I think she is more than justified to tell a little of her personal adventure. She was a mother taking the opportunity to extend her childrens horizons, and what on earth is wrong with that?
Another prevailing trend seems to be jealousy for the Connolly's lifestyle, which I agree sounds enviable - trips to Fiji, glitzy parties, etc. But, what I got out of this book was a further, very welcome insight into the mind of our greatest comedian, and a picture of a loving (and surprisingly average) family life! Don't be put off. This book is well constructed and fascinating, and while not as heart rending as "Billy" is a great read.
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