Genre: Comedy/Autobiographical
'Peggy & Me' by Miranda Hart
I don't recall when I first saw this very funny lady on the television, whether it was one of the sitcoms she guest starred in before notoriety with her self titled Sitcom 'Miranda', I couldn't tell you. Her humour appeals & her sense of awkwardness - I can relate.
I've followed her on Social Mediafor years, particularly throughout Lockdown, as she made a lot of videos, & for me, they were a constant in a very uncertain world that cheered me. However, sometime into this weird period in history, I remember that she started to not look so well, & I never really got to the reason for this as life was quite challenging at the time.
I bought this book thinking it might provide me with answers, but it was published in 2016. So, I looked back at stories on the Internet & it transpired that Peggy, her much adored Shih-tzu Bichon Frise Cross Puppy had infact passed away at the beginning of 2021. I recall her taking a break from Social Media at this time, but I was moving house & sad to say, Miranda's crises passed me by.
Anyway, I digress from the matter in hand (Miranda does a lot of that, I think it's rubbed off), despite being somewhat late to the party, it was an enjoyable retrospective read. She explores the 9 years (at the time of publication) of owning her little canine chum (a Miranda word), from the first episode of what she calls 'apoocalyse' the first time she brought Peggy home, the subsequent awkward encounter with the 'hunky viking vet' who offered to show Miranda (to her horror) a procedure to perform on her dog that would aid her toileting, a dip in the Thames on a boating trip & a near death experience for her little canine companion after she chases after a duck.
The only criticism I have are the inclusion of paragraphs written in bold where 'Peggy's thoughts' are narrated, which I just found quite cringe worthy, particularly as she over uses the phrase 'just saying it how I see it'. Also the chapters are wordy & lengthy which I think is bearable with a novel, but quite an undertaking when the author is recounting their own experiences. I prefer lots of short chapters.
To summarise (at last!) I did enjoy this jolly & humorous read & really needed the injection of humour that it provided. Miranda is a bit of a niche actress/comedian/person, but is very entertaining if you're partial to unfeasibly tall, upper class (who insist they aren't), socially awkward women who employ catch phrases such as 'bear with', 'what I like to call' & my personal favourite 'bear with'.....oh & gallops (see YouTube).
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