I Read a Lot of Books

I was not, like so many of my peers, brought up on the muppets. Sure, I remember Kermit singing, Rainbow Connection, and quite liked it, but I never watched the movies or the tv show. I also didn’t enjoy Sesame Street. I didn’t like Fraggle Rock. My biggest exposure to Jim Henson was through the puppets on Star Wars or The Dark Crystal, which I genuinely thought was one of the most amazing things ever. My seven year old self spent a long time playing the Dark Crystal, and I’ve been tempted to re-watch it as an adult, but I fear that I’ll dislike it and have no desire to destroy the nostalgia.

I read a decent article about the Jim Henson biography and thought that it would be a good audiobook, as the article specifically complimented the audiobook version narrated by Kirby Heyborne, more on that later. Also, I’m sure I’ve shared that it is challenging for me to really enjoy a book if I feel like the main character (or subject of the biography in this case) is kind of a dirtbag for no reason. If you are a dirtbag with a reason, I forgive you… but the other kind, well it is hard for me. Knowing virtually nothing about Jim Henson’s history and private life, I dived right into listening. The story goes through the geographic timeline which I usually appreciate, but in this case it was a bit much. This book had the “how much detail is too much detail?” problem. In the case of Jim Henson, Jones spends way too much time and energy going into how Jim must have inherited his sense of humor from his mother and what type of household he grew up in. While a paragraph or two or maybe even one chapter might suffice, the author went on… and on… and on.. I am not sure if this would have been as problematic if I were reading a physical book, but as I was listening to the audiobook version, I got bored very quickly. The book then transitions to discuss his academic career and how Henson got into puppetry in the first place. Jones research is certainly thorough and he is interviewing friends from school, his ex-wife, colleges, and his children. Jones goes into the early days of Henson’s career and his meeting of his first wife, Jane, who helped create many of the muppet characters and was instrumental in getting the business side of things going. Jones also spends a fair amount of time delving into specific projects. While the book continues on the regular timeline, there are lengthy detours to go over aspects of puppetry. Jones tried to weave them in seamlessly, but it sometimes distracted and changed the energy of what I was listening to. Again, this might be different if you physically read the book but I found it distracting while listening to the audiobook version. Jones outlines various Henson ideas, how he dealt with co-workers, and the eventual dissolution of his first marriage due to infidelity and his attempts to merge his own company with Disney.

While much of this book was interesting, and it was certainly informative… I just couldn’t get over the fact that in Henson’s interpersonal relationships he comes across as a bit of a sociopath. Genuinely, the way he treated his ex wife, ousting her from the company she co-created and cheating on her with people that she knew who worked within the company. What I also felt lacking were the interactions within his own family. While his children are quick to talk about their great family vacations, there is a sense that Henson’s love and devotion was reserved for his craft and his familial obligations were just that, obligations. Fans of the Muppet Show might enjoy this one, or those who admired Henson to begin with, but it didn’t do anything but make me think Henson wasn’t such a nice guy. Now, lets discuss the audio narration. It was surprisingly good. The narrator does a fair job and using the voices necessary to transition between direct quotations to the voices that Henson himself voiced for his various puppet characters. The audio narration was very good, the content itself was lacking.