Blimey, he's so pompous! / He's clearly bragging but pretending he's casually mentioning something." Brilliant, hilarious and entirely unlike anything else you have ever read before, Confessions of a Conjuror is also a complete and utter joy. The sense with which I came away from this book was that Derren didn't seem to like himself at all until comparatively recently. His almost overwhelming self-criticism is evident from the first minutes of the recording and there is very little of the dark, sexy persona created for his earlier TV shows. Several of the childhood memories do not show him in a good light at all and I will admit to cruelly sniggering at his embarrassment re Hugh Grant. Sorry, Derren! It never gets heavy into instruction or preaching but tells these through amusing recollections of his childhood and just simple observations. Derren’s underlying message is that happiness is really found by having that fundamental awareness that our stories aren’t always accurate, having the freedom to laugh at the negatives in life, worrying less about what others think of us (because they seldom do), and being able to both work hard and find enjoyment in all areas of our lives.

Confessions of a Conjuror, however, was over written, dull, tedious, interesting and fun in parts, but over all a bit of a slog to get through. Here's the thing. I love Derren Brown. I love his shows, his performances, his personality. I've seen him live twice and met him once (he's also a lovely guy) but this book is not it. This was okay – not brilliant, not deeply philosophical – and even occasionally quite funny. The story about The Sun ‘outing’ him as homosexual was very amusingly told. (Now, Murdoch is someone who has a lot to answer for). Vanishing Inc. UK Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 09430707. Prices shown excluding UK VAT. I tried to recreate these sensations mentally, and considered, as I tensed and shifted in microcosm, that that was what he was feeling right now; that for him the experience of all life revolved in this instant around those sensations, and that I was (with my annoyance and self-hatred and reluctance to work) at most a blur in the corner of his vision.I loathed myself again. My heart pounded beneath my stupid blousy gay shirt, and as ever, I found it absurd that I had done this a thousand times yet still battled with the same weary desire to be veiled in the shadows of a corner, to keep out of everyone’s way and let them enjoy themselves in peace.

You know sometimes you're attention will switch away from the audio book and you miss a bit? That didn't happen to me with this because it's so entertaining. If you haven’t heard, Derren has a new book out called “Confessions Of A Conjuror”. Here’s a recent review from the Sunday Times: If nothing else, I could listen to Derren talk for hours without growing bored of his voice. Perhaps it is that soothing quality that makes him such an able hypnotist, but whatever it is, I was happy to listen to him narrate his own audiobook.he also admits, “means nothing.” For Brown, this is not a cause for despondency. His punters experience “surprise and delight”, and the “trivial nature of the variables is irrelevant”. And that, it seems, is the message of this strange, postmodern book. Brown elevates seemingly insignificant moments in his life and imbues them with drama. “To really know someone,” he suggests, is to “gently trace their dreamy associations”. He may be right. In Confessions of a Conjuror, Brown takes us on a meandering pleasure cruise downriver. It is worth the journey.”” His understanding of feelings and motivations e.g. when stepping into a lift while someone inside steps out only to realise it is the wrong floor, and reactions of both parties are identifiable and amusing. That aside this is an absolute masterpiece of writing, it really is. Derren uses such intricate language to give detailed descriptions of situations which paint the most vivid pictures in your mind. I listened to the whole thing in 3 sittings and that's not normal for me. But this had me gripped. PDF / EPUB File Name: Confessions_of_a_Conjuror_-_Derren_Brown.pdf, Confessions_of_a_Conjuror_-_Derren_Brown.epub

His Comments on the World in General., such as the best way to boil an egg or opinions of Parmesan cheese. A bit like one of Jeremy Clarkson’s books, though just a bit more intelligently written. And most of us get it wrong. (This book really reminded me of Sturgeon’s Law, the revered line of wise philosophy: “ninety percent of everything is crap.”) From the start, he declares that it is the minutiae of life which reveals the person which he puts into practice to reveal himself and we are granted a dip into his thought processes. Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA18103 Openlibrary_edition

I love Derren Brown, I think he is a terrific showman, a talented artist, conjurer and hypnotist, and (if it is possible to judge solely from TV appearances and interviews) a very kind and caring human being. As with the idea that psychics use Barnum statements that appear to be very personal and accurate statements about you but would actually apply to most people, I would say that most of the ideas and experiences told in here are similar in that they are obviously very personal things about Derren himself but most of it will apply to everyone in some respect. He relates his anxiety about losing his pens and dots them around his flat but still cannot find one when he needs it before dashing out of the door. I can relate to his 'slight' OCD and his curiosity about what would happen if chose to crash his car. In fact, I can relate to many of his observations.

The inside of Derren Brown's head is a strange and mysterious place. Now you can climb inside and wander around. Find out just how Derren's mind works, see what motivates him and discover what made him the weird and wonderful person he is today. A woman passed by, having emerged from the ladies’ toilet behind me, and the game ended. The sound of the refilling cistern within was bright and loud, and then abruptly muted as the door bumped closed. The fat man wobbled away from the bar and from me, a little inebriated, and my empathy with his thoughts and sensations was lost under the high ceilings of the wide, noisy lounge. The restaurant was again before me, and my hand again noted its grasp of the cards. I resented the severing of the connection, and wondered whether being privy to a person’s meandering thoughts and gently tracing their dreamy associations was to really know them, at a level far deeper than answers provided by personality tests, school reports or the selective, retrospective narratives of traditional biography.” I'm a big Derren Brown fan. I watch him on TV, I've seen him live, I've read stuff he's written and even – fleetingly – met him. So I was pleased to find a copy of this book under the Christmas tree. I personally didn't laugh at what he was saying but it was very amusing. I'll end by saying that while it's a masterpiece I can imagine certain people not liking it because of the intricacy of the language.

Fascinating, wide-ranging and amusing (commuters who suffer from embarrassing giggle-outbursts on buses and trains, beware!) - I really enjoyed this. The content is mostly Derren's musings on a wide variety of topics, from the use of a handkerchief to the satisfaction of closing a drawer with a snap. I found myself nodding along and agreeing with a lot of his opinions and observations (especially the one that kindness is the most valuable trait a person can possess), however I was not hugely entertained. It was more like listening to a friend thinking aloud while you're on a long car journey together. A pleasant experience, but I don't need to have the same conversation again in the future. And, above all, he stresses the point that one of the things which ultimately makes life worth living is bringing other people joy. Magic: magic anecdotes, details of his magic career, the history of magic, and how magic ties in with human perception