Reviews for Manual of Law and Usage

The average rating for Manual of Law and Usage based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-07-29 00:00:00 Nancy Paris This biography seems to hang on a single, long interview (or perhaps series of interviews) with Graham’s brother, John. As it points out very early in the book, the two weren’t close as children due to the four-year age-gap between them, and this didn’t really change throughout their lives. So it is no surprise that this biography is pretty sparse and has little depth about Graham’s thoughts, feelings and life. Additional material comes predominantly from other (superior?) works and public interviews. Often, these third-party reports are jammed in as extended quotes which don’t always fit the tone, register or tense of the writing. I would recommend Bob McCabe’s biography of the Pythons or Graham Chapman’s own A Liar’s Autobiography more highly.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-12-13 00:00:00 Justin Collado In my mind, biographies are supposed to make the subject likable, or if not likable, then at least understandable. If we're not going to learn why the person is who he or she is, why read the book? Even a horrible person can be made understandable, that's why biographies like "The Lobotomist" are amazing. This book is simply a collection of quotes by people who knew Chapman. The author never tries to get into his head. He does paint a balanced picture of one of my favorite Pythons but these are simply surface details. The only depth in the book comes from David Sherlock, Chapman's long-time boyfriend, which makes sense as he knew him best. It's easy to see that Sherlock glosses over Chapman's glaring faults as some do for loved ones. But he did have some insight into Chapman's thought processes at times. The author would have done better had he taken all those hours of interviews and constructed a story out of it. Without a narrative, the book read like what it was: a series of statements made about Chapman, flattering or not, that left a gaping hole where Chapman's personal journey should have been.