Never Grow Up By Jackie Chan

 

He is one of the biggest action stars to ever grace the silver screen. He has broken almost every bone on his body to excite his fans with his daredevil stunts. However, he wants to show that he is just like everyone: one with weaknesses and mistakes. He is Jackie Chan. 

Never Grow Up, the memoir of action star Jackie Chan written by Zhu Mo and translated by Jeremy Tiang is a tour of how Jackie went from being a nobody to a famous star and how he changed and not changed in this journey. 

The book develops a chronological story telling format, which makes it almost like Jackie himself is narrating the story to the reader (Kudos to the writer for that. You'll really enjoy it if you read it as if Jackie is speaking to you). The author also adds her own tidbits to the story as a supplement to the narration, which blend well with the story. The book does not try to hide the lesser-known vulnerable side of Jackie despite the trend of producing a perfect image of oneself when one is in a position of influence. In fact, the book tries to show that despite all his achievements, Jackie is a regular guy who had some cherishable and not-so-cherishable memories in his life. 

The biggest plus point of the book as mentioned earlier, is its narrative style. The flow doesn't feel artificial but that Jackie is having a conversation about his life with you. The chapter breaks are appropriately placed, providing breaks at the right time while retaining the interest of the readers. Moreover, the book doesn't end with stories about the personal life of Action Star Jackie Chan but also moves into the life of philanthropist and cultural enthusiast Jackie Chan and what they mean to him. But even in these areas, Zhu Mo doesn't let go of the narrative style that defines the book. 

An important portion of the book that I believe readers will appreciate is of Jackie, being the simple man he is, redefined himself after reflecting on the messages that his movies, which catapulted him into stardom, would have sent to his audience and how he made sure that he became a responsible filmmaker. But he pledges to entertain his fans till he can without thinking twice about the dangerous stunts. 

In short, Never Grow Up is an excellent account of the actor-martial artist who has risked it all for his loving fans worldwide and to the man who learns from his mistakes and tries to evolve into his better self.

+: Narrative Style

+: Simple Language

+: No image-protecting efforts

Ratings: 9.9/10

Verdict: Befitting for a down-to-earth legend