Mack The Life

Product Information

Both men appeared on the debut series of Let's Play Darts, facing each other in the final, with Mack and his partner Martin Adams beating Vine and his partner Darryl Fitton. I can understand why he maybe wouldn't want to subject his nearest and dearest to the kind of scrutiny this could entail, but a little more detail wouldn't have gone amiss. There are things in "Mack the life" that I didn't know about comedy in general albeit the book is a biographical account of how he got into comedy rather than the usual dissection of early years and family. Being a few months older than Lee I was pleasantly surprised to read that as part of his growth and journey into comedy he worked briefly at my local Pontins.

It’s a warm and honest storytelling, full of Lee’s natural wit and charisma, and reflective of the gentle, humble man behind the mask. I am a big fan of Lee Mack's work and throughout the book I could imagine him telling the amusing anecdotes which added to the enjoyment. He spins some subjects into jokes although there are clearly underlying truths, whether about himself, his career or the industry he operates in. Aspiring stand-ups might be well advised to start here for an honest picture of what progress might be like. If you are a fan of Lee Mack you will enjoy this book - telling the story of his life with honesty and humour up to the point when he became a regular face on our TV screens.

I was excited about this book (as the release was pushed back at least a dozen times), I'm not sure why as I'm not the biggest fan of Lee Mack but I do find him very funny, quick witted and (at least on the face of it) very genuine. This was never going to be a literary work of art but it was a very entertaining read that I stayed up into the small hours to finish.

It’s a cleverly written and very funny autobiography anyway, but a real joy having Lee’s lovely voice tell the story. It’s an absolutely brilliant approach, as a secondary commentary and secondary running throughline throughout the book, despite the fact that Lee, for the most part, doesn’t get ahead of himself and really does tell his life’s story in a linear fashion. This is an indispensable read not only for fans of Lee Mack, but for any would be Comedian wanting to break into the comedy circuit or Comedian wanting to take their career to the next level for it vividly highlights the plain old fashioned hard work, inevitable set backs and the smattering of luck that is required to go on to become a professional stand-up Comedian. As a fan of Lee Mack, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which whilst crude in places (this is part of his humour) is incredibly interesting and varied.After working at the stable for three days he asked if he could try and ride a horse; the trainer, Ginger McCain, agreed and the first horse he ever rode was Red Rum. Mack had also, on the same day of the first record, broken the record for the most darts in inner and outer bullseyes in one minute; that title was held for a year and two months, before it was broken on 23 September 2016 by professional darts player James Wade. Usually people talk about the questions or their answers, showing up on time, whether they were asked back. Mack The Life isn’t as evocative of life on the road as Frank Skinner’s first book, or as entertainingly insightful as Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up, but it’s still a cracking read.