Alan Cumming is a highly acclaimed Scottish actor of the screen and stage. Despite his fame, very little was known about his youth, until now….
Alan Cummings was born in Perthshire, Scotland in 1965. He lived in a house on a grand estate of which his Father was the chief groundsman. He lived in the house along with his mother, Mary, his older brother Tom and his father. Despite the picturesque landscape that the family resided in, life in the house was far from perfect: Alan’s father was a manipulative and abusive man; who hit and beat Alan as well as his older brother Tom. This as you could probably expect had a traumatising effect on the family. This trauma that Alan experienced started to peer its head in the early nineties whilst performing Hamlet. It was this trauma that caused the rift in Alan’s marriage as well as the divorce. This book is a painfully honest recount of Alan’s life and ambitions. Despite the sad details of his early life Alan delivers every word with a wit and humour that is unique to him and onlY him. It is an amazing book that will leave you gut-wrenched.
I am very big fan of Alan Cumming. I have spent many an evening watching the Good wife and then realising that the man on my screen who was speaking with a Chicago accent is a Scottish, bisexual with a thick brogue. This book is mesmerising and it is impossible to take your eyes off the pages.
Teen Rating: An amazing book that leaves no skeleton left in the closet. 14+ 4/5
