Book 2- Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade
I guess this one is cheating, because it technically isn’t as fresh in my mind as the last one. I finished reading this book before Christmas, and proudly declared it the funniest book I ever read. Because it is. Because it’s just brilliant in so many ways. But I honestly think I find it so funny because I just love everything Richard Ayoade does, so maybe I am biased.
The thing that is more equally funny is the fact that I bought this book for myself, read it, and then proceeded to tell my sister on Christmas Eve about it. She then admitted to buying it for me for Christmas. So now I have twice the amount of funny on my bookshelf. So, if you wish to read it after this short review, I will endeavour to send my spare copy to you so that you can share in the hilarity.
If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the book, essentially Ayoade breaks down the Gwyneth Paltrow film View from the Top, whilst also including autobiographical snippets and his trademark sense of humour. And that is honestly the worst description. Honestly, this book is its own genre.
I think what makes this book so hilarious is the entanglement of film criticism with Ayoade’s unique style of cynicism, sarcasm and sincerity. This is possibly my favourite form of humour, because it is equally unsettling and funny. There are moments in which he trashes the film altogether, yet somehow manages to communicate that it is perfect at the same time. This is the reason I love Ayoade’s work so much, because he subverts the ideas of standard comedy, but also makes you think he is being completely serious. His humour is in itself a critique on humour, yet when it provokes you to start thinking philosophically humour, it makes you further question whether indeed that is it’s aim. And that just adds to it being even more funny.
If I had to pick a favourite chapter, and that is incredibly hard to do, I would have to pick ‘A View on Stewardship’. This may be partly because of Ayoade’s referencing of the Bible, but it is also because of the way he relates it to the film itself and to his own life in an ironic and tongue-in-cheek way. It’s simultaneously a comment on the use of the Bible in criticism (guilty), poking fun at Biblical content, poking fun at the film itself, and self-deprecating. And he does this over five pages. I don’t think his referencing of the Bible is heretical. In fact, I believe that if one can’t laugh at ones own beliefs and accept criticism, then you have no right to criticise others. Humour is one of the few things that sets us as humans apart from other beings. If we deny humour, then perhaps we lose what is inherently human. Or, maybe this chapter is just funny.
I realise the intense irony of this blog: Here I am seriously critiquing a book which ironically (and sometimes seriously) critiques a critically panned film as if it were ground-breaking for comedic affect, by a man who has dedicated the entire body of his comedic work to a dry sense of humour which is unmatched. So I don’t wish to overdo my review and over hype it as the funniest book ever, especially if your expectations get set too high and you don’t agree. But it is the funniest book ever.
Reflections
What this book does, which I find truly incredible, is that it parodies multiple things at once, and that’s something I could only dream of being able to do. It is completely genius. And I am in awe of Ayoade’s comedic brain. I cannot even begin to do this book justice in a short blog post. Just go and buy it or rent it or whatever and read it for yourself. And tell me afterwards whether I should stick to reviewing more serious books. But I honestly couldn’t really care about your opinion. I am just going to sit in the corner over here and continue laughing. Because what is the point in breathing if you can’t laugh? Unless, of course, this book kills you from laughing too much.
So, what have I learnt? Well, I guess it’s not so much what the act of reading this book has taught me, but what this book has reemphasized. And that’s the beauty of laughing. Never take yourself too seriously, or anything for that matter. Because life is never all too serious anyway. If it was it would be utterly monotonous.
Fay Dragon 