Why read How I Escaped My Certain Fate?

Book cover of How I Escaped My Certain Fate

Book description

Experience how it feels to be the subject of a blasphemy prosecution! Find out why 'wool' is a funny word! See how jokes work, their inner mechanisms revealed, before your astonished face!

In 2001, after over a decade in the business, Stewart Lee quit stand-up, disillusioned and drained, and went…

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Stand-up comedy

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Why read it?

1 author picked How I Escaped My Certain Fate as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Lee Darkin-Miller

Author

It is part memoir, part commentary on the art of stand-up comedy, offering insight into Stewart Lee’s career as a comedian, his relationship with the industry, and his personal development as a performer. The title refers to his “escape” from the confines of mainstream comedy and a comedic style he no longer found fulfilling. It also alludes to the gaggle of bible-thumpers who managed to cancel his multi-award-winning show, Jerry Springer: The Opera.

The book is structured around transcripts of Lee’s live performances, annotated with his reflections on each routine. He occasionally and hilariously rips into his own flaws…

From Lee's list on The best comedy books for satirical smirks: edgy and irreverent reads.