I wrestle with how to respond each time I’m asked if I read autobiographies. The answer is a resounding, “yes!” but I’ve found that what I consider to be an autobiography and what people are asking about are very different. I selected “biographies” as a section I was interested in on Goodreads. So far, I’ve managed to find three books there I’ve picked up, only one of which I’ve finished. When I go looking for Gladys Aylwards’ The Little Woman or Gene Kranz’s Failure is Not an Option, I find them in “history.” However, when the Leaky Cauldron posted a news article regarding Warwick Davis upcoming book, I found myself interested. Whether his name conjures pictures of a fuzzy warrior teddy, or a swashbuckling mouse, or a brilliant charms professor, Mr. Davis has graced the cast list of many blockbuster movie franchises. It took a while for me to find a copy this side of the pond, but I wanted to at least skim it for fun behind the scenes stories about making Return of the Jedi and Harry Potter. But my quick skim turned into a solid afternoon of reading as I fell under the spell of this charming book.
I had assumed that like many celebrity tell-alls, Size Matters Not would be the story of a troubled childhood, an adulthood seeped in struggles with substance abuse, and many off color anecdotes. There were a few regrettable stories (mostly skits he did as a teenager) but by in large the book was stunningly clean and surprisingly joyful. Despite being three and half feet tall, Mr. Davis sees the world a great deal more positively than most people. Even the most heartbreaking moments of his life were met with a cheerful optimism and determination. Never once did he suggest his condition earned him special treatment and never once did he use it as an excuse for ill-behavior. While the movie stories did comprise a large part of the book, I found myself reading it more from a desire to learn more about this man who had brought so many of my favorite characters to life. The stated purpose of many celebrity books is to have viewers “meet the real person.” In the case of Mr. Davis, I found a real person I could actually relate to and could, if I met, hold real conversations with.
I would have to give the book a PG-13 overall due to some language. But particularly for parents looking for a contemporary biography for their high school students to read, this is perhaps the only book of its kind I would recommend. I only hope that in another twenty years, Mr. Davis is willing to write a sequel.