Book Review: In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett

I've recently read In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem and Fun in the Sandbox by Carol Burnett.

I loved watching the Carol Burnett Show when I was growing up.  I thought Ms. Burnett was personable and seemed very much a person anyone might easily get to know.  I was aware that she was a renowned comedic actress but she certainly seemed very approachable and that was in part because of her question and answer sessions at the beginning of her shows.  In this book, she explains how these sessions were meant to do just that: make her seem girl next door, approachable and real.



The book discusses various co-stars, stars who made appearances, skits and sketches. She also discusses various characters she played and explains how that character developed from costuming through to improvisation during the skit.  Some of these things are very interesting and some are tedious.  Sometimes the rather long winded lead in to the punch line of skits that Ms. Burnett writes about just kills the mood.  Other times, she makes a wonderful point about what worked and why it worked and I appreciated those. There are 'inside' jokes that the audience might not have been aware of at the time of taping that Ms. Burnett reveals in this book as well.  I found myself laughing out loud as I read some of these.

Honestly this would be a great reference book if you're interested in a particular star or co-star, character or skit.  There are many stand alone segments in this book.  I enjoyed reading it.  I found, overall, it was humorous, informative and nice.  There's not nearly enough nice in this world anymore and when I do stumble upon a star that is still nice it's like a refreshing breeze.

This book was provided by Bloggingforbooks.com for review.