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David Mitchell: Back Story

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David Mitchell: Back Story

By: David Mitchell
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David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his look of permanent discomfort on C4 sex comedy Peep Show, his online commenter-baiting in The Observer or just for wearing a stick-on moustache in That Mitchell and Webb Look, has written a book about his life.

As well as giving a specific account of every single time he's scored some smack, this disgusting memoir also details:

  • the singular, pitbull-infested charm of the FRP (‘Flat Roofed Pub’)
  • the curious French habit of injecting everyone in the arse rather than the arm
  • why, by the time he got to Cambridge, he really, really needed a drink
  • the pain of being denied a childhood birthday party at McDonalds
  • the satisfaction of writing jokes about suicide
  • how doing quite a lot of walking around London helps with his sciatica
  • trying to pretend he isn’t a total **** at Robert Webb’s wedding
  • that he has fallen in love at LOT, but rarely done anything about it
  • why it would be worse to bump into Michael Palin than Hitler on holiday
  • that he’s not David Mitchell the novelist. Despite what David Miliband might think
 Entertainment & Celebrities Comedy Funny Celebrity Witty Biography Feel-Good Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

‘One of the best celebrity memoirs of last year…his outsider geek personality translates just as well on the page as it does on TV.’ Metro

‘It livened up about half way through with the appearance of me. But enough of David's life. The book is wonderful from beginning to end.’ Robert Webb

'David Mitchell is an extremely funny man on screen, in person, in print and very probably underwater.' Sam Bain, co-writer of Peep Show

‘He can write’ Evening Standard

‘Fluent, discursive, intelligent.’ Evening Standard

‘If you like Mitchell on television, you will like him in this book.’ Shortlist
All stars
Most relevant
One of my favourite audiobooks so far. The book has a nice balance - part biography, part comic asides, structured around a wander around London. It's perhaps a little shy in places, and I suspect there are some warts left uncovered, but fair enough. DM is refreshingly candid about his desire for success and his pleasure in enjoying it, and if I ever met him it would be nice to clap him on the back and say "well done you". Except he would find that mortifying, and I would be mortified at having mortified him, and he would feel bad about my feeling bad, etc.



Anyway, the bit about why we should be grateful we don't live in a meritocracy nearly resulted in spittle on the windscreen.

Really enjoyable

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Would you consider the audio edition of David Mitchell: Back Story to be better than the print version?

Extremely well read by a man of more depth than his public persona permits you to see, a absolute joy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Engaging from start to finish, the final chapter was especially moving in his comments about 'Victoria' - now what I expected, an altogether funny, moving and insightful audiobook.

Honest and Heartfelt

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Yes he has issues, but frankly who doesn't! This is a very witty, incisive and elegantly written account / rant of events and related thoughts from childhood through to his professional success. It gets 5 stars on the basis of the excellence of the recounting, including amusing tangental perspectives of the more mundane aspects. Very good!

This Man Has Issues!

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I was on the fence about David Mitchell. I neither adore nor dislike him. He's a nice enough chap and doesn't look like he's going to be surrounded by Sunday paper headlines. I'm not really sure why I bought this audio book. He was a bit of a posh prat.

However this book was surprising. It tells of his hard working parents, his lack of educational commitment, uni and meeting Webb, struggling to get work and his eventual success.

He isn't a posh prat. He's a likeable man..He isn't grandiose or pompous. He's a genuinely nice chap. The book was lovely and I enjoyed it. The end chapter was my favourite. Very thought provoking.

The only struggle I had was the fact he narrated it. His voice can be a little hard to listen to for a length of time. But bear with it and you will get used to it.

Surprising but painful

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Listened to this on the strength of the reviews, didn't know too much about DM apart from HIGNFY and Ms Coren. Funny (of course), well-structured (as he walks through London) and, as with all show-biz memoirs, it's the before-they're famous part that's the most interesting by far. As Mr Fry's last episode confirms.

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