Stalin Ate My Homework, By Alexei Sayle
Never mind the Beatles...this is the Red Army Choir
Your support helps us to tell the story
In my reporting on women's reproductive rights, I've witnessed the critical role that independent journalism plays in protecting freedoms and informing the public.
Your support allows us to keep these vital issues in the spotlight. Without your help, we wouldn't be able to fight for truth and justice.
Every contribution ensures that we can continue to report on the stories that impact lives
Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
The comedy boom of recent years has led to a glut of dull autobiographies by stand-ups eager to cash in on their celebrity.
Michael McIntyre's insipid bestseller Life and Laughing is a case in point. One could be forgiven, then, for approaching Alexei Sayle's Stalin Ate My Homework with trepidation, but this touching, elegantly written memoir stands out from the dross.
Sayle grew up in a "two-thirds Jewish atheist communist family" in Sixties Liverpool, and he looks back on his unconventional youth with comic bewilderment. "I was an oddly wired-together child," he recalls. No wonder – while his friends were going mad for the Beatles, Alexei's mother insisted that he listen to the Red Army Choir instead.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments