"Autobiography was an obsession for Andersen. At age 25, he embarked on a trip, and left instructions for the publication of his first autobiographical sketch should he fail to return alive. In 1855, at age 50, he wrote his first official autobiography; in 1863, he continued his life story."
The Fairy Tale of My Life was Andersen's complete autobiography. Other Amazon reviewers loved this book, but from the little bit I read I got the impression that he was a bit obsessed with himself, a notion which was confirmed by the above bit of information (from the back book cover) and maybe even the title he chose. The book is long-over 500 pages of small type. Normally I'm not the type to be afraid of long books (translation: I'm ashamed to admit if I'm scared off by long books) but I also try not to force myself to finish books I don't enjoy when there are so many out there that I would, so I quit after several pages.
So that's my lame review of a book I hardly read. I personally wouldn't recommend it to any but hardcore Hans Christian Andersen fans, but again, not everyone agrees with me. Anyone else who has read portions or the whole thing is welcome to contribute their opinion in the comments.
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