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spideypeaches's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Reluctant to review, how do you put a star rating to someone’s personal notes on their days. However I both enjoyed and didn’t enjoy the fact it was usually just a sentence about what happened on a day. It being short and spanning such a long timeframe gave a real idea on Alan’s rich life and sometimes a brief insight to his thoughts/feelings. However it also read quite disjointed, no substance to grab on to and get in to.
Alan lived a very full interesting life and it’s nice to have the insight. As something to read I did find it dragging.
Alan lived a very full interesting life and it’s nice to have the insight. As something to read I did find it dragging.
konnercarnahanrasor's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
I truly believe Alan Rickman never intended for his private diaries to be published for the world to read. Because of that, I want to make one thing clear—this review is more of a commentary on the editing than on the quality of Rickman’s writing.
The editors quite literally just published his diary with little to no context, and I found that incredibly disappointing. His diaries could have been presented alongside insights into his life and career in a way that deepened the reader’s understanding and admiration for his work. Instead, we’re given fragmented thoughts that were never meant for publication.
That said, I loved the moments where he referenced Harry Potter and other actors he worked with. In those instances, I felt the connection and joy that come from understanding the context of his words. That’s why I wished for more background on other aspects of his life—it would have made the reading experience far more meaningful.
I imagine those who knew him closely appreciated this book immensely, but for the average reader, it leaves much to be desired.
The editors quite literally just published his diary with little to no context, and I found that incredibly disappointing. His diaries could have been presented alongside insights into his life and career in a way that deepened the reader’s understanding and admiration for his work. Instead, we’re given fragmented thoughts that were never meant for publication.
That said, I loved the moments where he referenced Harry Potter and other actors he worked with. In those instances, I felt the connection and joy that come from understanding the context of his words. That’s why I wished for more background on other aspects of his life—it would have made the reading experience far more meaningful.
I imagine those who knew him closely appreciated this book immensely, but for the average reader, it leaves much to be desired.
narcolepticbadger's review against another edition
2.0
It feels weird to rate someone’s personal diaries, so my rating is mostly based on the editing/presentation of Rickman’s diaries and the question of whether there was good enough reason to publish them in the first place.
Unlike other personal diaries/letters published by public figures, Rickman’s entries are short and telegraphic, giving very abbreviated accounts of his day-to-day life. While it is interesting and fun to get some insight into his thoughts on acting, the projects and films he worked on, and other actors/films, there’s just not enough content here to carry a 450 page book. Most entries are more focused on his travel itineraries, going out to dinner with friends, etc. — and I don’t know that this kind of minutiae offers anything of value to us in understanding Rickman’s life and thoughts. Great for personal recollection of one’s activities, but not for the general public, maybe.
The diary is also filled with tons of references (other people in the industry, plays, art, politics, etc.), so I think YMMV depending on how many names you’re familiar with as well. The editor does sometimes include footnotes to clarify certain names and points (providing the absolute bare minimum, with just the full name and years of birth/death), but this system seems inconsistent and arbitrary, with some people getting footnotes and others not with no discernible pattern.
I guess I’m not sure what I wanted/expected from this collection, but safe to say it didn’t deliver. Here’s one of those tidbits that made me smile, though: “Gabriel Byrne has the warmest smile. Tim Roth hangs like a snake over his chair.”
Unlike other personal diaries/letters published by public figures, Rickman’s entries are short and telegraphic, giving very abbreviated accounts of his day-to-day life. While it is interesting and fun to get some insight into his thoughts on acting, the projects and films he worked on, and other actors/films, there’s just not enough content here to carry a 450 page book. Most entries are more focused on his travel itineraries, going out to dinner with friends, etc. — and I don’t know that this kind of minutiae offers anything of value to us in understanding Rickman’s life and thoughts. Great for personal recollection of one’s activities, but not for the general public, maybe.
The diary is also filled with tons of references (other people in the industry, plays, art, politics, etc.), so I think YMMV depending on how many names you’re familiar with as well. The editor does sometimes include footnotes to clarify certain names and points (providing the absolute bare minimum, with just the full name and years of birth/death), but this system seems inconsistent and arbitrary, with some people getting footnotes and others not with no discernible pattern.
I guess I’m not sure what I wanted/expected from this collection, but safe to say it didn’t deliver. Here’s one of those tidbits that made me smile, though: “Gabriel Byrne has the warmest smile. Tim Roth hangs like a snake over his chair.”
mindyhp's review against another edition
2.0
Just him narrating his day. Might have been better if I saw his journal pages in the actual book and not audiobook
laurieb755's review against another edition
3.0
In the way that running a poison ivied limb under truly hot water can feel satisfying, reading this book also felt satisfying. It is a long series of seemingly quickly jotted diary entries over the course of 1993 till 2015. As a reviewer in the NY Times noted, Rickman likely wrote his diary for his own edification, maybe with the intention of eventually returning to his words and using them as stimulus for a book.
However, after Rickman's death in 2016 from pancreatic cancer, I am surmising that his widow and lifelong partner, Rima Horton, consulted with Alan Taylor to craft this book out of Alan's diaries. For a bit more insight into Rickman, Horton and his long time friend Dame Emma Thompson, there is an insightful interview of the latter two in this June 2022 BBC Breakfast Interview, and this tribute by Thompson after the publication of the diaries.
My observations upon the Diaries - Alan Rickman was constantly on the go, either acting, directing, traveling, arranging one of his three homes (in England, New York and Italy), eating out with friends or colleagues, offering guidance to young (and not so young) up and coming (or established) actors and directors, and generally leading a very busy life.
Periodically there would be a health related issue where I would wince and hope that he would slow down and take time to recuperate, but it seemed he was eager to be off and running as soon as possible, even if that wasn't actually the healthiest thing for him to do. (I wonder what he would have made of the Covid Pandemic…) While he took vacations, over the span of the 20 plus years of his diaries they seemed to be few and far between and definitely not long enough. It was as if he did not want to (could not?) stay still for very long.
At some point reading the entries became tedious but I felt an obligation to Rickman to finish the book, and I'm glad to have stayed with it. If you are a fan of Snape or any of the characters played by Rickman, or simply a fan of the man as an actor, or curious about what goes on in the mind of an actor who has been in theatre and movies and won awards for his work, you may well enjoy (even if you occasionally become exasperated!) Madly Deeply: the diaries of Alan Rickman.
However, after Rickman's death in 2016 from pancreatic cancer, I am surmising that his widow and lifelong partner, Rima Horton, consulted with Alan Taylor to craft this book out of Alan's diaries. For a bit more insight into Rickman, Horton and his long time friend Dame Emma Thompson, there is an insightful interview of the latter two in this June 2022 BBC Breakfast Interview, and this tribute by Thompson after the publication of the diaries.
My observations upon the Diaries - Alan Rickman was constantly on the go, either acting, directing, traveling, arranging one of his three homes (in England, New York and Italy), eating out with friends or colleagues, offering guidance to young (and not so young) up and coming (or established) actors and directors, and generally leading a very busy life.
Periodically there would be a health related issue where I would wince and hope that he would slow down and take time to recuperate, but it seemed he was eager to be off and running as soon as possible, even if that wasn't actually the healthiest thing for him to do. (I wonder what he would have made of the Covid Pandemic…) While he took vacations, over the span of the 20 plus years of his diaries they seemed to be few and far between and definitely not long enough. It was as if he did not want to (could not?) stay still for very long.
At some point reading the entries became tedious but I felt an obligation to Rickman to finish the book, and I'm glad to have stayed with it. If you are a fan of Snape or any of the characters played by Rickman, or simply a fan of the man as an actor, or curious about what goes on in the mind of an actor who has been in theatre and movies and won awards for his work, you may well enjoy (even if you occasionally become exasperated!) Madly Deeply: the diaries of Alan Rickman.
jenuinelywild's review against another edition
2.0
I was expecting profound notes. Deep thoughts. Longer journal entries with an over all arch or theme to it all? What I found was quite literally, day by day, excerpts from Alan’s diaries over 22 years of his life. Feels totally dry at times, like a laundry list of events, people’s names, travel plans, etc. I had to skip around A LOT. I hate to leave a bad review, when I loved Alan so much, but I just wanted so much more.