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Confessions of a Conjuror

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Confessions of a Conjuror

By: Derren Brown
Narrated by: Derren Brown
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The inside of Derren Brown's head is a strange and mysterious place. Now you can climb inside and wander around. Find out just how Derren's mind works, see what motivates him and discover what made him the weird and wonderful person he is today.

Obsessed with magic and illusions since childhood, Derren's life to date has been an extraordinary journey and here, in Confessions of a Conjuror, he allows us all to join him on a magical mystery tour - to the centre of his brain... Taking as his starting point the various stages of a conjuring trick he's performing in a crowded restaurant, Derren's endlessly engaging narrative wanders through subjects from all points of the compass, from the history of magic and the fundamentals of psychology to the joys of internet shopping and the proper use of Parmesan cheese.

Brilliant, hilarious and entirely unlike anything else you have ever read before, Confessions of a Conjuror is a complete and utter joy.

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An interesting take on the standard celeb autobiography in which Derren uses a detailed description of a card trick performed some years ago as the narrative thread, and drifting off at tangents as he is reminded of incidents from his early life, prompted to create random lists, chooses to name-drop (just a little!) and espouses his philosophies on life and its general lack of kindnesses.
The sense with which I came away from this book was that Derren didn't seem to like himself at all until comparatively recently. His almost overwhelming self-criticism is evident from the first minutes of the recording and there is very little of the dark, sexy persona created for his earlier TV shows. Several of the childhood memories do not show him in a good light at all and I will admit to cruelly sniggering at his embarrassment re Hugh Grant. Sorry, Derren!
This is a revealing autobiography but it is not laid out easily so some work is required from the listener. I thought it was the more rewarding for this, and am surprised to read other reviewers expressing disappointment.

He's really a nice guy

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Ah, what can I say about Derren Brown? Sharp-suited magic man? Pointy-beareded mind meddler? Both are true, but for me, Derren is simply this - a grand master of foolery, lovely with it, and very, very funny. Confessions Of A Conjuror is at once wonderful and insightful, utterly bonkers, entirely bemusing and totally entertaining. Derren lets us inside his mind, and here he reads his own work, so it really is like he's having an enthralling - if wacky - conversation with you. I challenge you to listen to this without guffawing out loud (I did within seconds). Put simply, there is much more to Mr Brown than the personna you see on the television or at your local theatre. Well worth an audible point.

Absolute magic

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We each come to biographies with a different agenda, if you come to Confessions of a Conjuror fascinated with Derren Brown and wishing to gain an insight into the man himself you'll thoroughly enjoy this book. If you're looking for details of how Derren performs his tricks of the mind you won't find them here, although his extraordinarily vivid descriptions of objects, events and human motivations offer a glimpse into the source of his 'powers'.

Overall, a good read from the author and I would love too see a follow-up based on Derren's experiences touring and working in theatre and television.

Paints a vivid picture of an ordinary but thoroughly interesting man.

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OK, so the story jumps around a bit, but is very followable. This autobiography (if that's what it is) follows Derren through one night when he was working in a restaurant as a conjuror to entertain diners at their tables.

As he goes through the motions of a series of card tricks with three diners, he explains some of the inner workings to his tricks. This takes us back to his student days, his childhood and gives an insight into his current thinking on various topics.

Once I got used to the narrative style I found this very engaging. One of those books I never tired of listening to, and always wanted to get further down the line of the card trick and the relationships of the people who were the participants in his little show.

Very interesting, very enjoyable!

Interesting... very interesting

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Derren Brown, as you probably know, is a mysterious chap. From his grasp of the human mind despite a lack of any formal psychological education, to his borderline obsession with illusions and magic, he's an enigmatic and divisive figure. He's also one of the funniest, most listenable people I've ever heard speak about themselves. This book takes you, almost in parallel, through a key formative moments in Derrens life, choice observations seen through his uniquely overanalytical lense and advice for getting by in this tumultuous world; all wrapped around a detailed, fascinating retelling of a single card trick performed at a restaurant in his early days.

If you even have a passing interest in the man behind the magic, give this one a listen. For Derren fans, it's an absolute must.

Interesting take on an autobiography

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