The Star's Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry

PCRG meeting held at Tom and Gaynor’s on Tuesday 1st July 2008

Venue: T & G’s garden. Weather – purrfick!

The book chosen for review was The Star’s Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry published in 2001. The group was given the choice of 4 books written by ‘comedians’ namely Ben Elton, Jo Brand, Jenny Éclair and Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry was chosen by a length whereas Ben Elton received ‘nul points’.

At the time of choosing it had been accepted that this would probably be a superficial read but that it would be fun. The group’s overriding impression was that this book was not fun at all. Based very closely on ‘The Count of Monty Christo’ it is the story of a young, well educated and somewhat arrogant man who is ‘fixed up’ by his so-called friends who plant drugs on him. By a series of co-incidences this prank escalates out of all proportion and he is incarcerated in a secure mental asylum in Sweden where he is all but stripped of his identity. He is (re) educated by a fellow prisoner and eventually escapes to wreak his revenge.

The book received fairly negative reviews from the majority of members. Most felt the plot was unbelievable and some of the characterisation was weak. One member felt that the name of Rolf as one of the leading protagonist’s tormentor’s was totally inappropriate! A number of people felt that the book was in some ways a reflection of the author as an outsider and as someone who has invented a persona for himself. Comments like “hard going”, “not witty”, “shallow”, “unbelievable” and “self indulgent” were made. One member described it as “dreadful”.

However not all comments were negative. One member described it as “a good read but not a good book” and another enjoyed it but felt guilty about having enjoyed it. It was suggested that with hindsight the group might have read the Dumas original at the same time in order to make a comparison. Another member complained that it lacked the subtlety of the original. Most agreed that there were good passages – one member particularly liked the visit to the Flask in Hampstead as he had enjoyed his visits there. All seem to enjoy elements of his education to some degree.

It was generally agreed that the book had an element of autobiography and the relevance of Fry’s manic depressive episodes was discussed. In summary this was not one of the Group’s most well regarded books but, as usual, it was agreed that it was a good experience to have chosen it. (Gaynor – I think I made the last bit up but I couldn’t think how to finish this piece!).