The Bassoon King

The Bassoon King

Review by Max M

The Bassoon King written by actor and comedian Rainn Wilson, tells the story of his life and the journey of becoming an actor. The story begins in Seattle, Washington where Wilson is born by two hippie, peace-loving parents. Not long after his birth, his parents split apart and he and his father moved to a poor town in Nicaragua. Wilson describes his time in Nicaragua vividly and adds touches of humor to keep you reading. After his toddler years, Wilson and his Dad moved back to the states and that’s where he found his love for acting. All through high school he pursued acting and got involved with as much acting as he could. After he graduated he attended three prestigious theatre schools in NYU, Washington University, and Tufts University. When he was done with school he decided to live in New York where he pursued a career on Broadway. During his time in New York he was dealing with a constant struggle with money, drugs, and alcohol. Eventually he meets his wife and scrapes up enough money to move to L.A. where he would eventually begin his acting career and star in The Office as Dwight K. Schrute.

Rainn Wilson tells a very good-humored but also a deep and emotional story. I would recommend this book to any age over 12 as their is a bit of explicit language and details about drug use.  It was inspiring reading about how he struggled so much with money and drugs and still managed to keep his faith strong and accomplish his dreams.The main thing that kept me reading was the humor that was added throughout the book. (One unforgettably hilarious and slightly disgusting moment has to do with worms and Nicaragua.) If there was a sad or deep part in the book that could make someone feel down Wilson quickly added a joke or comment that would bring a smile to your face. From reading this book I learned that even when times are tough, If I keep my faith strong and my goals in my mind, I can accomplish what I’m trying to. One aspect of the book that I loved was how he brought Dwight Schrute (character from the hit T.V. show The Office) into the story. The Office is one of my all time favorite shows and and the little sections and paragraphs written by Dwight made the book even more enjoyable.

All together, The Bassoon King was a great read. Rainn Wilson brings his intelligence and humor together to create a an interesting and hilarious memoir.