Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years
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Overview
“Michael Palin is not just one of Britain’s foremost comedy character actors, he also talks a lot. Yap, yap, yap he goes, all day long and through the night . . . then, some nights, when everyone else has gone to bed, he goes home and writes up a diary.” —John Cleese
“For Palin it has been one hell of a ride, but he seems to have maintained equilibrium all along the way. . . . In sum, it’s tempting to call him a Renaissance Man. But that, as any Pythonite would be quick to tell you, would be silly.” —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
Michael Palin has kept a diary since he was newly married in the late 1960s, when he was beginning to make a name for himself as a TV scriptwriter, and Monty Python was just around the corner.
This volume of his diaries reveals how Python emerged and triumphed, how he, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, the two Terrys—Jones and Gilliam—and Eric Idle came together and changed the face of British comedy. But this is but only part of Palin’s story. Here too is his growing family, his home in a north London Victorian terrace, his solo effort as an actor, and his writing endeavours (often in partnership with Terry Jones) that produce Ripping Yarns and even a pantomime.
Meanwhile, Monty Python refuses to go away: his account of the making of both The Holy Grail and the Life of Brian movies are page-turners, and the sometimes extraordinary goings-on of the many powerful personalities who coalesced to form the Python team makes for funny and riveting reading.
A perceptive and witty chronicle, the diaries are a rich portrait of a fascinating period.
“[C]harming and at times revelatory . . . A voice of (relative sanity) in the eye of a comedic storm, Palin paints so vivid a picture that the reader becomes a Python by proxy.” —The New York Times Book Review
“It is terrifically good: funny, astute, and wonderfully written. . . . ”—The Boston Globe
“This combination of niceness, with his natural volubility, creates Palin’s expansiveness.” —-David Baddiel, The Times
“A real delight to read.” —-Saga Magazine (UK)
“His showbiz observations are so absorbing. . . . Palin is an elegant and engaging writer.” —-William Cook, The Guardian (UK)
“A wealth of fascinating stuff about Monty Python.” —-The Independent (UK)
“Our favourite TV explorer shows us the workings of an unstoppable machine.” —-Daily Express (UK)
“A riveting commentary to a remarkably creative decade.” —-Academy (UK)
Synopsis
A perceptive and funny chronicle, these diaries are a rich portrait of how Monty Python emerged and triumphed.
The Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley
Though the emergence of the Python show and the subsequent phenomenon is traced here in fits and starts, there is more than enough in these 600-plus pages about the show, its cast members, its ups and downs to satisfy all but the most ravenous Python addicts. Not merely is there a lot of Python, there is a lot of show-business maneuvering, infighting and gossip, much of it immensely entertaining. We have no way of knowing what was cut from Palin's 38 notebooks—"five times the amount of material reproduced here"—but presumably cuts were made out of discretion as well as for length, and perhaps some tart nuggets about people who crossed Palin's path were left on the cutting-room floor. Still, readers who enjoy the higher gossip—mea culpa—will find much here to amuse them, and readers interested in the inner workings of a highly successful troupe of actors, writers and eccentrics will also find much to their satisfaction.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The long-anticipated diary of Michael Palin, or at least its first installment, has finally surfaced in print, revealing that the chatty Brit was apparently even more tireless than his fellow Pythons suspected. His zestful, often whimsical entries will shame other journal keepers with their coherence. They also reflect his rare candor. For instance, he admits his own astonishment when director Stephen Frears asked him to redo a scene: "I've never, in all my experience of Python filming, both on TV and in two movies, ever been involved in a retake of a scene for purely artistic reasons." First-rate fun.Peter Keepnews
The kind of person that someone appears to be on stage, screen or television is of course not necessarily the kind of person he really is. Palin, though, has revealed more than enough of himself over the years, especially in his wonderful BBC travel documentaries, to confirm that he really is a nice guy, not to mention witty, perceptive and (especially for a globetrotter) down to earth. Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years provides still more evidence. This charming and at times revelatory book is exactly what its name says it is: not a memoir or a history but simply excerpts from the diary Palin began keeping in 1969. A voice of (relative) sanity in the eye of a comedic storm, Palin paints so vivid a picture that the reader becomes a Python by proxy…Not that Diaries 1969-1979 is only about being a Python. It is appealing largely because as much as Palin loves making people laugh, he never forgets that comedy is his job rather than his life.—The New York Times
Jonathan Yardley
Though the emergence of the Python show and the subsequent phenomenon is traced here in fits and starts, there is more than enough in these 600-plus pages about the show, its cast members, its ups and downs to satisfy all but the most ravenous Python addicts. Not merely is there a lot of Python, there is a lot of show-business maneuvering, infighting and gossip, much of it immensely entertaining. We have no way of knowing what was cut from Palin's 38 notebooks—"five times the amount of material reproduced here"—but presumably cuts were made out of discretion as well as for length, and perhaps some tart nuggets about people who crossed Palin's path were left on the cutting-room floor. Still, readers who enjoy the higher gossip—mea culpa—will find much here to amuse them, and readers interested in the inner workings of a highly successful troupe of actors, writers and eccentrics will also find much to their satisfaction.—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
As one of the six Pythons to have assembled back in the late 1960s, Palin provides insights into the group's dynamics during the decade that brought the Monty Python troupe to international acclaim. This abridgment can be satiating and frustrating, often simultaneously. At face value, it provides many behind-the-scenes moments and explores how and why the comedy troupe went about its business. Yet the mere knowledge that it's an abridgment will have listeners yearning to hear more-especially Python-quoting fans. The short, occasionally abrupt entries feel authentic, as journal entries can often be a mere few sentences. But listeners may constantly question how much has been trimmed. Occasionally, the journal entries read as a mere chronological list of events. As narrator, Palin proves adept at adding life and emotion in his mild-mannered voice to the more pedantic lulls in the audiobook. But given the audiobook's shortcomings, a bonus interview or some other material might have improved the overall enjoyment for listeners. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's/Dunne hardcover. (Aug.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationLibrary Journal
In 1969, Monty Python's Flying Circuson the BBC commenced the saga of a six-man troupe with a distinctly British mix of cerebral, surreal, and profane humor that spanned a television series, four films, and numerous albums, books, and live appearances. Two new titles focus on specific members of the group. McCabe (coauthor, The Pythons: Autobiography) profiles the late Graham Chapman, who studied medicine but eventually devoted himself to comedy. McCabe uses interviews with Chapman's brother; his lifelong partner, David Sherlock; and former Pythons to present the life of a quiet man "who liked to surprise people with what was under the surface." Chapman battled with alcoholism and used his homosexuality to speak out against prejudice during a life cut short by cancer.Python Palin's wonderfully observed and written chronicles of the heyday years of Monty Python display the qualities of the novelist and travel writer that he became. Whether describing writing sessions, performance tours, filming in exotic locales, or battles with censorship, his diaries transcend the quotidian to capture a place and time in cultural history. His book is highly recommended for all public libraries: interest should surpass the Python fan base, who will find it essential reading. McCabe's thorough and balanced profile will be best appreciated by those with some previous knowledge of the troupe and is recommended for larger public libraries. For newcomers, a revised edition of George Perry's 1999 illustrated history, The Life of Python, is available in September and complements the more exhaustive The Pythons: Autobiography(2003).
—Jim Collins