Ryan Kenny-
With over a thousand Trinity students having waited for hours in the snow in the hope of being one of the lucky 200 to be granted a seat in the Phil’s chamber for an audience with him, Stephen Fry–perhaps one of the most beloved public personalities of recent times– needs no introduction. The hundreds who were disappointed not to be granted admission should read his latest autobiographical book, ‘The Fry Chronicles’.
Picking up the thread from where his previous autobiography ‘Moab is My Washpot’– which chronicled his troubled teenaged years–left off, ‘The Fry Chronicles’ loosely follows the thread of his life through the course of his late teens and early twenties. The story traces his arrival at Cambridge in the early 1970s, his experiences in the student drama scene, and his subsequent emergence into the world of show-business.
Although built around the framework of the story of his life during those years, and littered with delightful anecdotes of his encounters with many people who were then, or have now become household names, ‘The Fry Chronicles’ is much more than a simple narrative of those years. Indeed, at times the narrative seems often incidental, as Fry allows his thoughts to flow and develop in all sorts of directions. Those who were present that afternoon in December will be familiar with his wandering, wondering style. Allowing it to translate onto the page as he has, the book reads almost like a conversation with the man himself.
An aimless ramble through the mind of Stephen Fry, loosely based around some anecdotes of his life would no doubt make an interesting and best-selling book; but with The Fry Chronicles, he honestly attempts to go beyond that. His unselfconscious introspection, while sometimes teetering on the brink of feeling over-done, or even self-indulgent, is what makes the book truly fascinating. It is an unusual and compelling experience, to be shown another perspective of a public persona with whom we are so familiar. When that perspective belongs to the very person in question, and differs so dramatically from what we have perceived of them, there is potential for great autobiography.
At times, ‘The Fry Chronicles’ can be tiresome, and the personality of the man is not to everyone’s taste. However, to his legion of fans, this book provides genuine insight into one of the most fascinating and talked about minds of his generation.
