Tom Felton’s Memoir — A Book Review
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I read Tom Felton’s Memoir — beyond the wand recently. Actually I’ve been doing a ton of reading lately and just keep forgetting to do some book reviews here and there. I’ve been on a big memoir kick for the past several months now. I read Steve Jobs, I’m Glad My Mom Died, Prince Harry’s Spare, Heretic by Jeanna Kadlec, Hillbilly Elegy. Honestly a lot, and I just don’t think to write a review about them until weeks later and it’s not fresh in my brain anymore. Well no longer, today you are getting a fresh and Katie-certified book review. 👏👏👏
The book starts out like any memoir, talking about his childhood and his upbringing. He talks a lot about how him being the youngest of 3 brothers humbled him from early on and all the money and fame didn’t really faze him until he started living in LA later on in life.
It was interesting because for so many people (myself included) we were utterly consumed by Harry Potter and were obsessed with the actors. I would be on youtube for hours watching any interviews I could find. After reading his memoir, it kind of seems like Tom never really understood the level and impact that he had on people’s lives. He acknowledges it to a certain extent, he talks about paparazzi and people recognizing him — but it didn’t seem to me like he truly understood the level of obsession that people truly had for him and the series. Maybe he does and he just chose not to write about it in his memoir, but I found that to be really really interesting because he’s always considered himself normal and average. After reading this, I honestly ended up just really liking Tom as a person.
Later on, after the Harry Potter series is over he shows a great deal of self-awareness that I find really admirable. He talks about how growing up on a set like Harry Potter was really great at the time because he always knew were to be, how to act, and where to look. But once that was all over, he didn’t really know how to exist without this character, and without someone directing him.
His life in California was really fun to read about — especially his jailbreak from rehab and midnight hike to his favorite bar where he…
