Tragically I Was an Only Twin: The Complete Peter Cook
- Book Review,
by Peter Cook
From Booklist
Though a naturally gifted clown, Cook (1937-95) remains overshadowed by the much more successful Dudley Moore (1935-2002) and the other members of the revolutionary, early-1960s revue, Beyond the Fringe, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller, who remain vitally active in theater. This collection of Cook's better sketches and scribblings argues that he deserves better. From the beginning, when he wrote to crack up his classmates, he was brilliant, attesting to the iconoclasm that was the dominant tone of Beyond the Fringe and gave weight to Cook's duo performances with Moore. Even in his declining years, when he was paying the price of a lavish, alcohol-soaked lifestyle, Cook remained an able, gifted comic who tossed off winning punch lines with disarming ease. The anthology samples from all phases of Cook's creative life, and editor Cook, no relation, provides enough biographical material to make one wish he would essay a biography of this comic genius. Jack Helbig
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Impressive and thorough, if not comprehensive, this collection finally documents the genius of Peter Cook, a founding member of the legendary English comedy revue Beyond the Fringe... This long-overdue compendium is both beautiful and very, very funny. Enthusiastically recommended." - Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Though a naturally gifted clown, Cook (1937-95) remains overshadowed by the much more successful Dudley Moore and the other members of the revolutionary, early-1960s revue, Beyond the Fringe...This collection of Cook's better sketches and scribblings argues that he deserves better... The anthology samples from all phases of Cook's creative life, and editor Cook, no relation, provides enough biographical material to make one wish he would essay a biography of this comic genius." -Booklist
Book Description
To his many friends as well as his legion of fans, Peter Cook was quite simply the funniest man ever. His unique gifts and the way he led the transformation of British comedy (from music hall to perverse absurdity) and his clear comic influence on Monty Python's Flying Circus and every show since, has been much written about. But never before has there been a collection of Cook's own writings.
Tragically, I Was an Only Twin gathers the treasures of Cook's comic career, from school and university via Beyond the Fringe alongside Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore, to his sureal, satirical journalism for Private Eye. It includes his monologues, the cream of his irreverent essays, and highlights from his much celebrated partnerships with Dudley Moore as Pete & Dud and Derek & Clive. Illustrated with his own drawings, this is the first, the only, and certainly the definitive collection of the transformative genius of comedy that was Peter Cook.
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