Confessions of a Conjuror is, while in parts autobiographical, by no means a traditional autobiography. Structured around the performance of a card trick by his younger self in a Bristol restaurant, the book delights in veering off at tangents as and when something strikes Mr. Brown as worth expounding upon.

Thus we are steered through the quite fascinating recesses of Brown's mind. On the way we get philosophy, childhood memories, ticks and self loathing, the history of magic and the best recipe for Eggs Benedict. This makes for a very entertaining read.

Brown's style is conversational and he's never less than readable. Indeed at times he is quite profound, but always punctures any sense of self-import with a self-deprecating put down. Some of the anecdotes are laugh out loud funny.

Brown is never self-important and he comes across as a likeable, if eccentric, raconteur. ( )

An unexpected pleasure. Loved all the detours (footnotes spanning up to 6 pages) exploring the little dilemmas of life - what to do if you feel you've used the "wrong" towel in a hotel bathroom or the pros and cons of being a regular customer in a restaurant and ordering the same favourite dish. In other words, the peculiarities, more than the history, that make each of who we are. ( )

I'm a big fan of Derren Brown's TV shows. I understand quite a bit of the theory behind what he does having studied NLP back in the 80s along with other psychological theories. He's a very sophisticated performer and constantly surprises and entertains. I have always wondered how he arrived where he is today. While CONFESSIONS OF A CONJUROR is not a typical autobiography, it does provide some insight into how he thinks and the way he approaches the world. The book is a fascinating read. Using a description of one card trick as the "backbone" of the book, Derren takes us down numerous sidetracks and back alleys that reveal exquisite powers of observation of the "mundane" CONFESSIONS of life and human behaviour. There is an openness about himself, including his flaws and foibles, which is endearing. And his use of language is evocative and shot through with wit and wisdom. I've never read a book quite like this one - the style is wonderfully unique. My only criticism is that occasionally - and only occasional - the writing felt a bit bogged down. After reading his book, Derren Brown is one person I'd love to meet for a chat. If you are familiar with Derren Brown's work, check out this book. It won't be everyone's cup of tea. But after a few pages you'll know whether you want to drink the whole cup. ( )

I picked this up pretty much at random from the library - I'm not a big fan of autobiography and, since I don't watch a lot of TV, I actually know @DerrenBrown more from twitter (waiting to see how quickly that dates this...)

Far from the usual "One glorious day, the world was immeasurably improved by my birth, little suspecting at the time that I would achieve world domination [or not] for 5 minutes [if that]", followed by lots of baby photos of a teenage X-Factor runner up who can't really tell you much more than that they went to school and now sing a bit*, Brown completely eschews a chronological approach to autobiography. He entwines personal anecdotes, psychological insights and instructions for preparing a perfect poached egg within a dissection of the anatomy of a card trick in the retelling of a particular performance and combined with discussion of magic in general.

Fascinating, wide-ranging and amusing (commuters who suffer from embarrassing giggle-outbursts on buses and trains, beware!) - I really enjoyed this.

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* Admittedly, I perhaps falsely malign a genre don't read much of based mainly on shiny 'celebrity' biographies on display in supermarkets. ( )

This was a really interesting and original book. Interesting because Derren Brown seems to be such a fascinating character - the book really gives you an insight into how someone like this thinks and functions. It is original because it is formatted in a very unusual way, based around one magic trick that he performs in a restaurant. Whilst describing the trick he writes as though his mind is wandering from one topic to another, in which he describes his observations and thoughts about everything in life from profound subjects such as whether or not God exists to the packaging of After Eight Mints. Then he will return to the trick again for a while. The whole book continues in this fashion.

The presentation of the book also made it enjoyable to read. The type was quite large and clear with perfect line spacing and the pages were edged in red, also illustrating how the author pays attention to the small details in life.

The only reason why I'm giving this book 4 rather than 5 stars is that the details of the magic trick were completely lost on me, as I'm not really interested in the subject. Although, I know that's a personal thing. I was just so tempted to read this book after watching a documentary on Derren Brown and wanting to learn more about this interesting and eccentric person. It certainly met if not exceeded my expectations. ( )