Reader Loretta Martin reviews "Jokes My Father Never Taught Me" by Rain Pryor with Cathy Crimmins:
I found this a fascinating read from cover to cover.
Rain was 4 years old when she first met her father, comedian Richard Pryor, in 1973. As a girl who grew up adoring her father even as she feared him, Rain gives an intimate memoir.
It's quite frank and gives insight into the man as she knew him right through his death from MS in 2005.
he learned early about her father's insatiable sex drive, as he made no attempt to hide the fact that he believed sex was the only thing that made men happy. He was raised in a whorehouse by his grandmother and held prostitutes in high esteem, as did his grandmother. He did not feel the same about his wives and girlfriends who he would beat repeatedly. According to Rain, he was such a charmer that the beatings didn't matter -- they always came back for more.
There is sadness as Rain, too, was beaten as a child, but her love for her father so great that she took the beatings in stride. She tempers sadness with humor and gives a vivid description of a famous comedian who was loved and adored by many.
But be forewarned -- the language in the book is quite salty.
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