Black Beauty: According to Spike Milligan

According to Spike Milligan

by Spike Milligan

This is one in a series of renditions of classic works by Spike Milligan. The book recounts the adventures of a beautiful horse called Black Beauty, who bites, kicks, swears and enjoys drinking whisky.

Genres: Humor, Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan, known as Spike, was a comedian, writer and musician. He was of Irish descent, but spent most of his childhood in India and lived most of his later life in England, moving to Australia after retirement. He is famous for his work in The Goon Show, children's poetry and a series of comical autobiographical novels about his experiences serving in the British Army in WWII. Spike Milligan suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to depression and frequent breakdowns, but he will be remembered as a comic genius. His tombstone reads 'I told you I was ill' in Gaelic.

Reviews

[Dark-Draco · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first discovered this series of books, I found them so hilariously funny, but after reading so many good parodies and humourful books, my opinion has changed a bit. It was more a roll-you-eyes, Dad-joke kind of book, with lots of people getting kicked in the balls or having their head's blown off.

And you really need an intimate knowledge of the original to get some of the jokes, mainly because Milligan gets rid of any semblance of a story. Each of the original chapters is condensed into a couple of pages, annotated with lots of swearing and giving any real sense of the proper story.

An ok read, but my tastes have very much moved on.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is another instalment in Milligan’s series of books in which he retells classic stories but with a twist of his own inimitable brand of humour. Of course, it helps if you’ve read the source material because then you’re going to get the jokes a little more, but it was still fun.

In fact, it reminds me a lot of the modern trend for retellings and the gimmicky but fairly amusing range of Ladybird Books for Grownups and the Famous Five equivalent with books like Five Give Up the Booze.

Still, I can’t necessarily say that I’d recommend this one unless you’re a big Spike Milligan or Black Beauty fan, mainly ‘cause it’s just okay.

[Mortimer Roxbrough · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, too much profanity to be funny, rather sad - avoid.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically the same as Anna Sewell’s book with added swearing, people getting shot in the head and horses kicking people in the balls: not one of Spike’s best, stick to his war diaries.

[Yaroslav · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5