Peter Kay, The Sound Of Laughter: Autobiography

its as if he was the kid next door when you were growing up and all the observations you can relate to.

i to was a kid from the rola cola era and listening to him reminds me of what we had , a much simpler way of life.

i read it on the bus to drown out all the rubbish music kids play these days (oh god i sound like me nan ) and when i read chapter the holy white triangle i could not keep my laughter in .

my journey is never long enough for me to finish a chapter so i am still reading and loving it .

The book was well written and so funny i hope there will be another book out soon. I loved the book it was though i was there in the room with him i was sorry when i got to the end of the book

I found Peter Kay's autobiography "The Sound Of Laughter" to be a brilliant read. It was entertaining and funny. I Just couldn't put it down! I could hear him speaking as I read.

I got this book as a birthday present on Tuesday so it has to get 10/10 for value for money.

Firstly, as you might have read from the other reviews, this book only takes you from Kay's childhood to the brink of fame. It is obvious that they have saved his career as a comedian for another book to make a bit more money. I honestly don't mind this because the book is still a terrific read in its own right and Kay does give you a lot about himself that you would never find on Wikipedia for example.

Kay must have employed a literary genius to construct this book for him because several different anecdotes are interlinked and told simultaneously throughout the book. Either someone else did this for him, or he is in the wrong job because I have never read an autobigraphy before where I have simply marvelled at how the story is developed.

Basically, throughout the book he is describing his upbringing, whilst frequently going back and continuing various childhood stories. This comes to a fabulous climax at the end of the book. He is walking onto the stage to perform in the final of 'The Northwest Comedian of the Year' which is looking for the discovery of the next big comedian. Anyway, the absolute favourite, someone called Jonny Vegas had performed earlier and blown everyone away. As Kay is walking onto the stage he decides his material is not good enough so changes it completely on the spot and he starts telling the crowd about all the stories the reader has been hearing all the way through the book and the crowd love him. It is the sort of climax you could expect of one of those cheesy, inspirational Hollywood films, but it is brilliant.

Overall, Peter Kay comes across as a really nice, modest, down-to-earth guy with no bad edge to him in this autobiography. Obviously, this is how Hitler probably comes across in 'Mein Kampf' but I would bet that Kay is really this nice in real life and if you read this book you will probably become a fan of Peter Kay for life. It also becomes clear just how naturally funny Peter Kay is because the northwest competition was only his fourth ever stand-up performance and in each of the three preceding performances he does a complete act off the cuff as well.

This book is very funny and very entertaining.

An interesting read, with deep insight into everyday life. More suitable for the older audience who can relate to the era of Peter's childhood, as they can reminisce about the bygone days. However, a younger audience wanting a colourful history of his modern work such as Max & Paddy and Phoenix Nights could be disappointed with the Peter Kay Sound of Laughter autobiography.

Peter Kay the Sound of Laughter is the latest Christmas Cash-In from this comedy icon. While I like Kay and most of his work, I can't help but feel a slightly bitter taste in my mouth with regards to this book. This is because it only charts Peter's pre-success days and while he regales stories of his childhood and part time jobs with some style, one has to wonder if we would have been better served with a proper autobiography which talks about his life after he found the limelight. Any other autobiography would do this, so why not this one?

The answer is unfortunately that Kay is obviously cashing in on his popularity by releasing one book this Christmas and presumably the follow-up in 2007. With no sign of a new Max & Paddy or Phoenix on the horizon it appears that he is living on easy street for the next year or so with the two book con providing his brass for 06/07.

That said, it is funny and a good read, but you can't help but feel it could have been a heck of a lot more.