411 Book Review: A Lions Tale: Around the World in Spandex By: Chris Jericho
Posted by Will Helm on 10.25.2007
Chris Jericho (with Peter Thomas Fornatale) Chronicles the Development of the Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla in His New Autobiography
Even before the very start of his brand new autobiography, A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex, Chris Jericho (with Peter Thomas Fornatale) addresses what may have become, without quite a bit of courage on Jericho's part, a veritable elephant in the room: l'affaire Chris Benoit.
In a special Author's Note before the tale begins, Jericho succinctly explains that, as Chris Benoit was a significant part of his life and, hence, his book, Jericho would leave him in it, as the final days of Benoit's life don't reflect the man Jericho knew for many years before that tragic moment. In fact, in another classy and courageous move on Jericho's part, the tribute to the ill-fated Benoit family comes full circle as, near the end of his autobiography, Jericho includes a picture of himself, Stu Hart, and Nancy and Chris Benoit at Owen Hart's funeral, a picture that Jericho states himself that he hemmed and hawed about leaving in the book, finally electing not to essentially erase Chris and Nancy from existence through the photo's omission. Jericho also is sure to include Chris, Nancy, and Daniel Benoit in his far too long epilogue/"Requiem" wrapping up the book, another gutsy token of Jericho's respect.
While there is another elephant that is addressed in due time, the book that lies between those two tragic points is a funny, sweet, and interesting read chronicling the career of one of the most talented, charismatic, and entertaining professional wrestlers of the current era. Most wrestling fans and probably some non-fans familiar with Jericho due to appearances on VH1 or Celebrity Duets already know the basics of the story: son of a professional hockey player; trained with the Harts in Calgary; stints in Mexico, Germany, Japan, Smokey Mountain Wrestling, ECW, and WCW; and finally the long-awaited Chicago debut with the WWF and beyond, where the autobiography proper begins and ends. A Lion's Tale operates as a combination sentimental memoir and classical bildungsroman, recounting the curious education in many ways of the boy who began Chris Irvine and became the man, Chris Jericho.
The character of Chris Irvine/Jericho, throughout the tale, speaks with a tone that is both confident, yet playfully self-effacing. Much like the onscreen character, the subject that is Jericho is instantly likable from the first moment and through the story, whether as a young goofball in Canada, developing neophyte grappler, or a wrestler on the cusp of superstardom. Jericho, at each step of his career, is sure to recount all that he's learned from the myriad characters he's encountered throughout the years.
While Jericho is an excellent protagonist, these characters and Jericho's honest and oft-embarrassing opinions of them color the book with their appearances. Jericho's parents provide both influence and, after a tragedy, inspiration. After his rock and wrestling obsessed teenage years including a sort-of backyard federation busted up by a comical janitor, Jericho begins his training proper, introducing a handful of characters, one of which Lance Evers, a.k.a. "Lance Storm" would prove to be Jericho's foil for a good part of his career. As Jericho trained, in some ways, with the Hart family, they do make a strong and respected showing throughout the story, with Stu, Bret, and especially Owen though not necessarily Keith receiving nothing but the utmost adoration from Jericho. From there, Jericho collects a colorful cadre of educators and allies at various stages of his career, from two Guerreros (Hector and Eddy), Norman Smiley, Robbie Brookside, and Jim Cornette early on to Paul Heyman, Dean Malenko, and Benoit, who serves as a role model and alternate foil for Jericho for much of the tale, though each are still grounded with a warts-and-all humanity. If there is one crime Jericho cannot be charged with in A Lion's Tale, it's hero-worship.
Of course, the story would not be complete without villains and a little romance, and Jericho is quite forthcoming about both aspects. While it is hard to believe, from the tone of the autobiography, that anyone could be an enemy of the inherently likable Jericho, fellow wrestler Vampiro, in particular, proves to be a thorn in the protagonist's side more than once in Jericho's career. Though inept independent promoters who apparently exist throughout the world and even an egotistical referee appear for comic relief at many points in the tale, greater enemies spring up as Jericho moves through the story, beginning with lazy and self-aggrandizing wrestlers and culminating in his behind-the-scenes battles with WCW bookers Kevin Sullivan in particular and Goldberg. Along the way, even though Jericho seems to enjoy referring, self-deprecatingly, to the size of his manhood, he forthrightly recounts his days of sowing his wild oats. Admittedly, though Jericho may have had his moments as a lothario, he's at least and thankfully a discerning lothario, judging from the quality notches on his bedpost mentioned in the book. The romance does climax, in the end, when Jericho meets the love of his life thanks to, of all people, Glen "Disco Inferno" Gilberti . . . but no thanks to Raven.
Like any good storyteller, Jericho mixes moments both hilarious and heartfelt into his tale, and, in the process, perhaps tears down the mystique of certain individuals, particularly a surprisingly witty Dean Malenko. From the things wrestlers do to entertain themselves both remarkably nerdy and disturbingly disgusting to the mad methods of would-be lovers including a particularly creative young lady and her family in Kentucky, many of Jericho's anecdotes are laugh-out-loud funny and, very nearly, unbelievable without some knowledge of the characters or settings involved. However, some of these tales do run into the other, aforementioned elephant: drug use, wrestling's controversy du jour. Though drug use makes up a small part of the book and some may argue Jericho could be glossing over its existence, Jericho seems nothing but honest when it comes to his own use of Dianabol, Halcion, GHB, and even marijuana, and, admirably, he avoids, for the most part, conjecture in regards to the dabblings of his fellow wrestlers. While goofy misadventures abound throughout A Lion's Tale, a family tragedy, coupled with the losses of associate Art Barr and idol Owen Hart tear at the heartstrings and show the softer, truly raw side of Jericho, with all the artifice of his business stripped away. The death of Owen Hart, in particular, comes at an integral point in Jericho's tale, perhaps as an exclamation point on everything that has happened prior. In addition, this sad incident also includes a somewhat shocking and pathetic turn by Hulk Hogan that must be read to be believed.
The structure of the book takes advantage of the aforementioned varied locales of Chris Jericho's career, as each section of A Lion's Tale focuses on a particular region, from his formative years in Winnipeg to his last stop in New York. Each section operates relatively chronologically, though there are occasional detours in most of the sections back to Winnipeg or Calgary, Jericho's adopted home-away-from-home for the bulk of his career's early years. The only time the chronological/geographical structure of the book runs into trouble, though, is the section on Jericho's times in Japan; this part of the tale seems to straddle a few of his other stops, with Jericho beginning the section with his stint working for FMW and jumping ahead some time to end with his matches with WAR and the Super-J Cup. While this may not be much of an issue for those paying attention or familiar with the course of Jericho's career, the somewhat sudden shift may prove jarring for the casual reader. By and large, however, each section stays true to its setting, giving each a particular and definable tone, though each with equal weight (and entertainment value).
The book, however, would have little entertainment value if the diction makes it unreadable. Luckily, Jericho has crafted a tome that is easy to read for the most part and written very close to his persona: casual and off-the-cuff. Rather than scripting a dry history of his life, Jericho spices up his language with frequent pop culture references (including a strangely recurring Back to the Future conceit), Jericho-isms (of which "ricockulous" seems to be a favorite), and insider wrestling terms. That final aspect proves to be a weak link later in the tale as, though many of the terms are explained early in the book, the explanations become fewer and fewer as the story wears on. On a related note, perhaps reflecting Jericho's state of mind during his time with WCW, many of the figures appearing therein lack any identification other than just their wrestling name. While wrestling fans are generally familiar with Raven or Hugh Morrus, these names hold little meaning to the casual reader and the lack of real characterization for these figures may prove confusing to the uninitiated.
All things considered, this oversight is only a minor complaint for one of the most enjoyable and interesting wrestler autobiographies to come along. As trust legitimizes any autobiography, Jericho proves a trustworthy narrator in A Lion's Tale, respectful yet irreverent, confident yet self-effacing, profound yet profane, breezy yet sentimental. Though the story may be dotted with tragedies, the drama that is the life and career of Chris Jericho ends with a happy ending that fateful night on RAW in Chicago, as the boy becomes the man he always wanted to be and knew he could be.
The 411: Much in the vein of Mick Foley's tomes, A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex, by Chris Jericho (with Peter Thomas Fornatale), is a worthy addition to the genre of wrestling autobiographies. The book is certainly recommended if not required reading for any wrestling fan or fan of Chris Jericho as he tells a tale both hilarious and heartfelt. Casual readers, however, may find some of the moments contained within the story unbelievable or confusing, but, with a little patience and attention, they may very well find an enjoyable read amid A Lion's Tale's pages.
