The Bassoon King: Art, Idiocy, and Other Sordid Tales from the Band Room

(Paperback)

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Description

For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute in the The Office. Viewers fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. In The Bassoon King, he tells his own story and explains how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. The book chronicles his journey from super-nerddom to drama, his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures, and insights about The Office which fans of both Wilson and the show will love.

Reviews

"Quirky, witty, literate."
TheWashington Post

"Rainn Wilson's memoir captures the essence of his offbeat humor."
Chicago Sun-Times

Wilson defies the typical tropes of celebrity memoir. At points, TheBassoon Kings episodes read with the comparably startling, surreal and yet downright endearing outrageousness of an Augusten Burroughs or even David Sedaris essay. . . . Wilsons memoir details what its like for a regular human, a relatable human, a nerd to become famous after climbing the proverbial ladder of professional acting (whilst keeping your humanity and your grounded perspective intact).
Paste Magazine, a top 10 book of November

"Filled with genuinely fascinating stories about his unusual upbringing, his entre into the comedy world, and his thoughtfully developed views on life, Wilsons book is an unsurprisingly funny and surprisingly poignant entry in the cavalcade of celebrity memoirs."
BookPage

A breath of fresh air in a genre desperately gasping for some. . . . Adeeply personal recollection of Wilson's journey from bassoon player to Emmy-nominated beet farmer. . . . It's outlandish and unexpected, but it reads real.
Phoenix New Times

You know Rainn Wilson as Dwight from NBCs The Office, but Im not sure many are fully prepared for how outrageous and often endearing his life story can be, captured in the pages of The Bassoon King.
TheOakland Press

"Wilson's hilarious book is a brisk, delightful read for his devoted fans."
American Way

"The Office star brings a value-added approach to his new book The Bassoon King: It's a coming-of-age storyanda showbiz memoiranda funny read.Wilson also brings a values-added approach: The Bassoon King is a gentle introduction to theBah'iFaith, which Wilson re-embraced as an adult, after wrestling with both drugs and the question of meaning in his life."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wilsons story is engaging. . . . Readers will relish his experiences as Dwight Schrute (who contributes the books foreword) in The Officesnagging the part, the shows debut, the actors and writers, and behind-the-scenes reminiscences.
Publishers Weekly

[Wilson] shares the ups and downs of his journey to fame in this funny and frank memoir . . . of particular interest to aspiring actors and other creative types, as well as the many fans of the long-running NBC comedy.
Booklist

"Certainly for fans ofThe Office, but the amiable actor also offers thoughtful glimpses into the realities of the TV and film industry and an impassioned rationale for living an openly spiritual life."
Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

RAINN WILSON is best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Dwight Schrute on NBCs The Office, though today hes equally well-known for his millions of Twitter followers and the philosophy website he founded, SoulPancake, which launched a New York Times bestselling book of the same name.