Julie Walters, or National Treasure Julie Walters as the media often call her, holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. Firstly she makes me laugh, she's a great actress, she personally replied to letters I wrote her when I was in my teens - twice - and also looks a bit like my mum :-) The connection is reinforced by the fact she's a fellow Midlander who originates from Smethwick, just a stone's throw from where I lived in the Black Country, and is thus something of a local hero. She's also one of those celebrities who seems to appeal to everyone without being too sickly. Which is why her autobiography was the ideal gift for my mum's Christmas present.
Unfortunately travel plans prevented me from sneakily reading said gift before wrapping hurriedly commenced, but my mum's praises ('you can really hear her voice ... some of the family stories remind me of our lot') and a click on iTunes later, I have listened to the audiobook, read by Walters herself, and can report that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was delightful hearing Walters herself discuss her childhood and experiences at the Everyman in Liverpool, amongst other anecdotes, and it was immediately clear that she has a knack for storytelling. There's a good tale about a certain Mike Leigh being asked to fish a spider out of a terrified Julie's flat for instance! I especially enjoyed listening to a family friends' malapropisms, which bought light to some of the darker moments she reflects upon. After her father's death a family friend reassures Julie that her mother has never been 'erotic' (meaning neurotic) - this is something which could easily happen amidst my own elderly relatives(!) and Walters presents this with affection and a novelists ease.
The autobiography is at its most vivid in the first half, when Walters discusses her childhood and teens in '50s and '60s Birmingham. I loved the fact that she 'did the voices'! This, along with her talent for telling a tale, really brought everything to life; That's Another Story is as moving as it is hilarious. I sobbed when she relayed a conversation she'd had with her father a short while before his death and roared with laughter at some of the experiences she'd had as a trainee nurse in Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The second half of the book is marked by a focus upon her career, from Acorn Antiques and Educating Rita to Billy Elliott and Mamma Mia, with her relationships and family carefully protected. Some might feel she is rather guarded about this, but I can understand that she wants to preserve something for herself alone and in the light of some of the more intrusive celebrity biographies, the lack of 'tell all' was a breath of fresh air - she's clearly a very nice person who respects her past relationships and will protect their privacy as well as that of her husband and daughter. Although the latter half felt a weensy bit rushed, as she galloped from one project and illustrious name to another, this is hardly justifiable criticism as there was an awful lot to fit in and I found myself wishing her publishers had allowed her more space!
I am generally weary of the celebrity biography but this sets a totally different standard compared to the 'woe is me' generic slebstories you see trotted out so often. I heard from Kitty at Other Stories that no less than AN Wilson has bigged it up: 'I was enthralled by her memoirs ... a celebrity memoir which is actually worth reading as a work of literature'. I can only concur with the esteemed Mr Wilson :-) Julie Walters tells stories that are vibrant and warm - just as you imagine her to be - and just like all the best storytellers, she leaves you wanting more.
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