Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Tess Burton's Reviews > My Autobiography

My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin
Rate this book
Clear rating

by
4098917
's review

really liked it
bookshelves: all-time-faves, my-reviews, biographical, historical, wwii

Charlie Chaplin's autobiography is a blatantly honest and beautifully written account of the most famous man in the world in the early 1900s. His ease with writing and the book's fantastic flow offer amazing juxtaposition with his account of the life of a pauper in 19th century London. You simply do not expect such eloquence from someone who was partially raised in a work-house and confessed he was mainly self-taught.
The stories of his youth were brilliantly told. They were moving, funny and always honest. Chaplin paints a very clear picture of his childhood and transports the reader with ease. He even remembers how he felt at each point in time, and never sugarcoated his feelings about his family, particularly his mentally ill mother. Chaplin spends quite a few chapters exploring his childhood and when the story eventually covers his rise to fame the narrative feels rushed, which is essentially how i must have felt for him. All of a sudden Chaplin became a new person in a brand new world of his own creating, but he rises to to challenge fantastically, and the rest is history.
Chaplin does not shy away from talking about his sex life and his many failed marriages. It was refreshing to read that Chaplin never made excuses for his failed relationships. The failures mainly boiled down to him being a workaholic, and not really loving his wives that much in the first place. Chaplin does not deny this. The whole feeling I got from the narrative was Charlie saying "yes I was a dick back then. Apologies to all involved, but that's just me. I'm not a bad person, I acted like a twat for a long time." This honesty just made me love him even more.

I am a lifelong fan of Chaplin and this autobiography just made me love him more. He was a brilliant, funny and intelligent man. He writes his life story as if writing a novel and refuses to lie to his readers.

Recommend!
17 likes ·  âˆ� flag

Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read My Autobiography.
Sign In »

Reading Progress

Finished Reading
September 17, 2012 – Shelved
September 17, 2012 – Shelved as: all-time-faves
November 29, 2012 – Shelved as: my-reviews
December 30, 2012 – Shelved as: biographical
June 23, 2013 – Shelved as: historical
October 20, 2013 – Shelved as: wwii

Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Dan (new) - rated it 5 stars

Dan Keightley I've literally just finished it and found it completely absorbing. I've never been a fan but look at him in a completely different light now.
A brilliant and honest book


Steve Great review.


back to top