This is my head. It thinks it talks it charms. It worries it laughs it hurts. It has a hundred wonderful tricks. I am proud of it.
The experience of reading this book was strange. In the introduction, the editor says that it is not clear whether Alan Rickman wanted to have his diaries published. So as a reader I felt somewhat invasive - i mean it is Rickman’s diary, you have a direct insight into his thoughts, his feelings…
And at first I did not know if I would manage to finish this book, because the first diary entries were rather uninteresting. I had no idea who the people were he wrote about. But what intrigued me was Alan Rickman’s writing style. The way some of these entries were written was just so good! It is a pity that he never wrote a novel. I think he could have created something extraordinary.
Madly, Deeply was an insight into Alan Rickman’s mind and his exceptional life. Heartbreaking to see the sickness creeping in and how the diary entries got shorter and shorter in the months before his death. And even though his death was shocking and sad, the diary left me with the impression that he did enjoy his life and what he was doing.
Three stars for Madly, Deeply because:
- Did Alan Rickman want this to be published?
- Some parts were really interesting, other entries I just skimmed through
