Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow? The Life and Laughs of a Comedy Legend by Bob Cryer (Bloomsbury, £9.99)
Who doesn’t love Barry Cryer, who died in 2022, is a rhetorical question worth pondering, as this touching, funny memoir by his son manages to make him even more loveable. It’s a lovely blend of personal and professional: growing up in Leeds; the complicated home life of a funny man (Bob: we were told off just like other children – only with better timing); how debilitating eczema almost made Cryer quit before he got going. Stuffed with stories and gossip on comedy of a certain vintage: Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise (who Cryer worshipped) Spike Milligan (less so) Les Dawson (who originally wanted to be a Kerouac-style writer!) and lots of jokes, right to the end with Cryer’s role as elder statesman gag guru among a new generation of comedians. – NJ McGarrigle
Not That I’m Bitter by Helen Lederer (Mirror Books, £20)
There’s a hint of sarcasm in the title of this memoir. Lederer, it would appear, still bears a grudge against her more successful peers on the 1980s comedy and acting scene. Unfortunately for the former star of Absolutely Fabulous and Bottom, Schadenfreude is not an attractive quality. This memoir, which focuses primarily on the author’s comedy career, lacks shape. It’s a flat line of self-destructive behaviour, celebrity anecdotes and attention-seeking prose. Her self-described “need to be hysterical” becomes a little tiresome over 280 pages. This memoir is for fans of the comic. If you aren’t already a fan of her work, I’m unconvinced that this book will convert you. – Brigid O’Dea
The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez (Charco Press, £12.99)
What does a writer do with the stories that can’t be completed? For Dominican-American novelist Alma Cruz, the answer is to create a “cemetery” located in a barrio, in which the unfinished characters and their stories can rest in peace. But, as Cruz finds, the voices of those characters are not easy to silence. This extraordinarily beautiful novel weaves together the past and the present lives of Cruz, her sisters, and a host of people whose lives reach out to each other across the years. Alvarez is a masterful storyteller, and in this novel she has created an intriguing and profoundly touching tale of love and loss which will stay with you well after you’ve closed the book. – Claire Looby
