The Hippopotamus: Fry Stephen

Product Information

There isn't exactly a plot of sorts, other than someone is hired to solve a series of mysteries, other than that it just seems to be a series of random occurrences. If you spend your life on a moral hill-top, you see nothing but the mud below. If, like me, you live in the mud itself, you get a damned good view of clear blue sky and clean green hills above. There’s none so evil-minded as those with a moral mission, and none so pure in heart as the depraved.”

The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry | Goodreads

If you are a fan of a good mystery, this is not for you. It is really only a mystery in the broadest sense. Mostly it's a comedy of manners. We have been christened by spunk inspired by Stephen Fry. Perhaps not miraculous. Perhaps always pompous. Perhaps always hilarious. The book itself was never meant to be a mystery thriller, but rather, a book of poems written in novel form. Edit een dag later: het onontkoombare gevolg is, dat ik het boek nu uit heb. Dit is het meest hilarische boek dat ik in jaren gelezen heb. Maar niet voor romantische zielen of personen die nog enig geloof in de mensheid hebben overgehouden. Die zouden zich maar geschoffeerd voelen.

An ageing writer finds himself caught up in a mystery in this underwhelming adaptation of Stephen Fry's comic novel

First Athena List Film 'Little Pink House' to Open 2017 Edition of Female-Focused Festival (Exclusive) The film adds a voice over to give the audience the musings and assorted drunken drivel from the author protagonist, who is a crumpled forgettable middle-aged man of no discernible attributes. Ted Wallace is a sour, old, cantankerous beast, a womanising and whisky-sodden bounder of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too.

Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry | Goodreads The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry | Goodreads

All the possibly psychological analysis aside, The Liar is a racing novel of thrilling heroics, less-than-tender romantic encounters, and staggeringly fabulous Wildian wit. Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanising, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too. After losing his job at newspaper, Tedward's goddaughter engages him to spy on the family of Tedward's old army friend in Norfolk. Initially, there does not seem to be anything worth reporting to his goddaughter but as the story develops, Tedward becomes close to his godson who seems to be a bit of outcast and who also seems to be at the centre of some mysterious events.

There is not a lot to this movie. Don't expect dramatic plot twists, edge of the seat action, moving performances or fire works of any kind. The work of the original author (Stephan Fry) shines through at times, but the script writer left muddy finger prints trying to keep the story moving and to fit studio norms & marketing expectations. The shift in writing style is jarring at times. It is only by the grace of Roger Allam's talented performance that the movie succeeds for 3 of the 8 stars I am giving it. Roger Allam is very good at playing a pompous intellectual who has become cynical and critical of all (see him in 'V" and other works). Weird, but compelling, because the main character, poet Edward Lennox Wallace (Tedward), is a cantankerous, misogynistic, drunken snob who becomes the unlikely investigator of a country house mystery. British Council complies with data protection law in the UK and laws in other countries that meet internationally accepted standards.

The Hippopotamus (film) - Wikipedia

This book talks very easily about homo-erotic themes, which was refresing to me. I did not come across many books that take such sexual themes in the matter of fact way this book does yet. In my opinion the book handled those themes well. Nevertheless that I didn't enjoy particularly the reading experience with the book, I think that it was a book presented in a very unique way, that always it's a good thing. This novel is shown as something made of several kind of documents, like poems, newspaper articles, letters, etc... with obviously too some standard novel prose parts.

You might also like

What it helped me while I was reading this novel, was that I knew to understand the Laurie's style of commenting controvertial topics that while Fry's way isn't done is such effective same form than Laurie's, it did help me to understand that in several moments, you don't have to take him so seriously and so by-the-letter, since many comments are sarcastic and purposely out of tone. There's no great character arc, which I also love. There's a believable one. He's had a life-changing experience, but he's also set in his ways. He's a better man. With this funny and deliciously readable novel, Stephen Fry takes his place as one of the most talented comic novelists of his generation. Seeing as Stephen Fry with his gentility and wit is my favourite atheist (though he does have his moments), I had high hopes for this movie. The title draws comparisons between the animal as described in the poem and the main character, Ted Wallace, a slovenly man who enjoys long baths. (Hence cover designs picturing an actual hippopotamus or Fry himself in a bathtub.) The title and epigraph imply as well one of the novel's themes: the practicality of poetry and how that helps Wallace, a poet, regard the "miracles" in the story with a sceptical eye. [3] Synopsis [ edit ]

The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry | Waterstones

The language definitely was a pleasure and, as a non-native English reader, it sent me repeatedly to the Merriam-Webster which, in fact, actually didn't always cope with the idioms. And Ted sets out to do his Teddish usual, but, being the perceptive soul he is, and fundamentally still a good man, he lays off the booze and unravels the mystery of Swifton Hall. The novel's title comes from the poem of the same name by T. S. Eliot, whose first verse is quoted as the epigraph: [2] Adrian also brings out our darker side. His semi-sociopathic ability - eagerness even - to lie, outright lie, when nothing is gained; this is something we can also relate to, whether we like it or not. Adrian - or perhaps Fry - exposes us as sad, pathetic people who feel, know, that they simply aren't as interesting as they'd like to be. His habitual lying revolves around himself and his experiences; he says what he wants people to know, and how he wants them to think of him. And we've all done the same. How many new-age college girls are spontaneously lesbian, vegetarian whale-lovers after their 18th birthday? Much more than actually /are/ lesbian, vegetarian, or whale-lovers for their lives, but it's something to /say/. It's a distraction from the fact that they, like so many others, are white, middle-class American girls who go home to the family they said was dead for Christmas and are at the college on a sports scholarship for lacrosse. Ho-hum. You wouldn't date a girl like that.

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

He spends too much of the book flexing his encyclopaedic knowledge to no point at all, which is great in the context of a show like QI, but when it’s interspersed with a story you’re struggling to engage with, the result feels like trying to watch a pirated film in the mid-2000’s while constantly swatting away unsolicited pop-up ads. A strange waking this morning. I thought at first that Vesta Vision was playing the giddy goat with me." You should watch The Hippopotamus, it's very well acted (with Roger Allen in top shape), occasionally funny, and contains at least one memorable line, but if you do watch it don't expect to be amazed; once the words hit the screen, you'll realize it's still only a book, and not A FILM. The pompous arrogance and traits of Stephen Fry come blaring through at you this entire movie. The verbose lavatorial narrative was actually quite wearying and excessive to the point that it became irritating. The attempted 'humour' was dull and boring, I don't believe I was brought to laughter once. Fry's own slanted view of women and sex is brash to say the least, along with weak characters and dialogue, dare I go on..