There and Back Again Review

There and Back Again by Sean Astin, with Joe Layden

I'll be honest. I've always enjoyed seeing Sean Astin in films - even though I've never seen Rudy. So I saw this book chilling on a Goodwill shelf, and decided to pick it up. I really went Lord of the Rings Crazy when the trilogy came out, and I've always been interested in the backstory of the making of the film trilogy.

Second honest opinion. I've always enjoyed Sean Astin in films, but out of a film? He seems... like a guy that might annoy me in real life. And I think that's why he works so well as the underdog in his films; he has an earnestness that translates from real life to the screen. And that earnestness can sometimes bite him when he's not acting. Astin details a few of those stories in this book, and it helps make the book quite courageous - it's certainly a lot easier to tell funny anecdotes about Lord of the Rings, and much more difficult to talk about your character flaws.

There are quite a few funny anecdotes in this book. Reading about the hobbits cameraderie, is quite humorous. I walk away wishing I had been the fifth hobbit.

I recommend this book if you're interested in Lord of the Rings, or if you like Sean Astin. As a biography, it's not my favorite; it doesn't quite cover the range that someone like Michael J Fox's does. I give it 3.5/5 stars.