I recently listened to an audiobook in which singer/songwriter Paul Simon talked about how his father always felt that he was undereducated. Keep in mI recently listened to an audiobook in which singer/songwriter Paul Simon talked about how his father always felt that he was undereducated. Keep in mind, he was talking about a man who’d achieved a PhD. qualification late in his life. But I share that feeling with Simon’s father and with a greater merit. I was schooled at the local grammar school, and after achieving a set of very average O level results, I abandoned A level studies to start work at the age of seventeen. I picked up professional qualifications along the way, and yet I couldn't rid myself of the feeling I was undereducated. After forty years of working for essentially the same company (a bank that went through a number of mergers/takeovers during my time with them), I realised I’d had enough of them at the same time they potentially reached the same conclusion about me. We parted ways.
Ever since, through reading (and listening to) books, I’ve attempted to fill gaps in my knowledge. What could have made me a better manager/leader/innovator? I’ve consumed books about many successful people: famous politicians, brilliant businessmen, and other high achieving historical figures. Could I ever have been more than just an average sportsman? Ok, let’s binge on bio’s and technical instruction books. Oh, and what about the sciences, always a particularly weak area for me? After all, I’d given up on physics, chemistry, and biology very early in my scholastic life. Well, in truth, my reading in this area has been pretty limited, but at least my ambition to learn more led me to this book.
Of course I’d heard of the theory of relativity. Who hasn’t? But what does it mean? I really had no idea. Something to do with mass, light, speed, gravity, and the curving or warping of space I was to learn. All this with good dose of complex mathematics thrown in for good measure. It’s all very clever, though the detail really flew straight over my head. But just how Einstein develops and fine-tunes his theory (or really theories, as there’s also quite bit here concerning wider cosmological issues) over the course of a decade or more really is a good story, and very well told too....more
What a find! If I don’t listen to another good audiobook this year I’ll just be happy I stumbled across this gem. I’ve been a fan of Paul Simon for ovWhat a find! If I don’t listen to another good audiobook this year I’ll just be happy I stumbled across this gem. I’ve been a fan of Paul Simon for over fifty years, ever since my favourite school teacher brought a record player into an English lesson and played tracks from a Simon & Garfunkel album to we amazed students – nobody had ever done something this daring in a lesson before. His message was ‘listen to the words’, and it had most of us hooked: yes, theses were songs – good songs – but there was poetry here. I don’t know which album it was. The duo had released a few by then, but they had me. They had me good!
I’ve been looking for a good biography of Simon for a while, and this was the only one available on Audible (I prefer to listen rather than read non-fiction). In actual fact, it really isn’t a bio. It’s a series of conversations between PS , Bruce Headlam, and Malcolm Gladwell, a pair of Canadian journalists. Thirty hours of conversation, often supplemented by the musician’s live playing and singing, is distilled down here to slightly less than six hours of pure magic. The other thing to note is that this isn’t a potted history of Simon’s life or even his musical career, rather it’s an exploration of how his music is created: his inspirations, his methodology, his abiding inquisitiveness about, and love for, all types of music.
Over the course of numerous sessions, Simon sits down with his guitar, and they chat. They’ll get talking about a theme or a particular song, and an explanation will be given as to where the idea came from, what chords, or rhythm or style, was in his head - how the idea grew into something. He would often play a bit to demonstrate something and then perhaps sing along, maybe even a whole song. It’s enthralling. It’s compulsive. The man really is a musical genius....more
The Middle East region is seldom out of the news these days, the current Israel-Hamas war being the latest in a long line of conflicts. Jeremy Bowen, The Middle East region is seldom out of the news these days, the current Israel-Hamas war being the latest in a long line of conflicts. Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, has been reporting from the region for over thirty years. He clearly knows his patch well and here he’s documented his appraisal of where things currently stand and how this point was reached, with a particular focus on the time since he began his regular reports.
He does cover some of the earlier history too, from the point Britain destroyed the Ottoman Empire in 1918 (it continued to rule the area until 1948). He’s scathing in his appraisal of the way Britain became the catalyst for many of the issues witnessed since, particularly as a result of disastrous decisions made during WWI and after WWII. He states that by the 1990s the region was stagnant with countries waiting for the demise or death of dictatorial leaders, but eventual outfall from the collapse of the Soviet Union and later the events of 911 were to kick-off events that are still reverberating today.
Bowen lays out his book in a series of interlinked essays. He trots through Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War, the Israel-Hezbollah War, the Arab Spring, the brutal murder of Gaddafi, the rise and fall of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Iranian nuclear programme. It’s worth stating that the current conflict kicked off after this book was completed and is therefore not mentioned – though it is forecast!
In truth, I found it all rather overwhelmingly grim and also hard to follow. This is partly down to how the book is structured with themes often being repeated and events overflowing from one section to another, but also due to that fact that it’s complicated – damned complicated. Another factor is that to my Western ears the long, difficult names just didn’t stick in my head and I found that I lost track of some the figures mentioned on a regular basis. But mostly it was the fact that Jeremy’s job was, in part, to visit the scenes of death and destruction and report what he saw. I don’t know how he did it for the length of time he did. I became distinctly battle weary quite early on.
I did learn a lot, but to be honest I was glad when I was fully through the book. I listened to an audio version read by the author, I voice I’ve become well acquainted with over the years. It’s a good way to obtain a comprehensive overview of the regions recent history, but my advice is to ensure you’re not already in a dark place before you begin, and have a decent tot of something strong within easy reach throughout....more
A young woman's travels documented in words and pictures. I was initially struck by the photographs as I perused Autumn’s online blog prior to requestA young woman's travels documented in words and pictures. I was initially struck by the photographs as I perused Autumn’s online blog prior to requesting this book – the photos are stunning! It’s harder to appreciate the quality via the e-book I was given access to, but I do believe they’ll show brilliantly well on paper. There are some good practical tips too for aspiring travellers, for instance how to make a ‘proper’ cup of English tea (clue: it doesn’t involve a microwave) and the fact that when visiting an English pub you have to approach the bar to order food and drink, the staff won’t come to you. From a personal point of view these both tickled me.
But aside from the tips and photos what really grabbed me was Autumn’s story: her bravery in undertaking the trips alone, her angst when faced with challenging situations (e.g. getting an uninvited mauling twice when in Italy or travelling to Australia with a potential diagnosis of cancer overhanging her). It really is a gripping account, written with modesty and honesty. I couldn’t help seeking out a few places listed that I’d visited and checking her reaction against mine. It really is great fun and, I think, truly inspiring.
My thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
I suppose Rory Steward first clearly appeared on my radar when he stood as one of many candidates for Tory leadership (and therefore Prime Minister) fI suppose Rory Steward first clearly appeared on my radar when he stood as one of many candidates for Tory leadership (and therefore Prime Minister) following Theresa May’s resignation in 2019. I recall it being claimed that he’d been a ‘spook’, working for the British Intelligence Service, MI6, for several years after completing his degree at Oxford. It made him sound interesting and whenever I’d heard him talk he did seem to have some engaging things to say. He definitely came across as somebody a little different from the normal boring MP’s that turn up on British television, churning out their party’s policy by rote.
The spy element to his past is unverified, what is known is that he’d spent time as a diplomat, a charity worker and a Harvard professor before becoming a Member of Parliament. This book largely covers the period immediately before his election and up to the time he left Parliament, not long after his abortive leadership campaign. Rory talks us through what he considers to be his major successes (which might just be the least interesting element of this memoir), explains why he chose to become and MP and also what his constituency duties comprised. All this is interesting enough, but it’s hardly what has made this book such a hot topic since it’s release. What people (myself included) are interested in is what it was like to have David Cameron, Liz Truss, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson as a boss?
Stewart doesn’t pull any punches. He lets rip at each of them, with the exception of May, whom he admired. He has nothing good to say about Cameron, whom he found to be disinterested in him and his ideas, a man who populated his office exclusively with ex-classmates from Eton. Of Liz Truss, he says that she valued announcement and polling over implementation and delivery. In fact, he paints a picture of someone who is totally unbearable. But it’s Boris that comes in for most disparagement, described as a feckless blowhard and, above all, a compulsive liar. Others that face harsh criticism include ex-Cabinet ministers, Michael Gove and Gavin Williamson. But in truth there’s very little positive language aimed at any of his fellow MP’s here. Other than May, the only close allegiances he mentions are those with his one-time boss, David Gauke and veteran Conservative Ken Clarke.
The parliamentary machine, he claims, doesn’t work. Ministers are often appointed without the requisite knowledge or background to fulfil their briefs and usually only for a short period of time - often no more than a year. They are then shuffled up, down or sideways, making room for another unqualified appointee to occupy their barely warmed chair. Meanwhile, senior civil servants, who can see that yet another change of direction is in the wind, try their darndest to either explain that the latest idea is ‘not possible’ or frustrate it in other ways, until their new minister is also moved aside.
Interesting though all this is, it does paint a truly horrible picture of our government in action. Moreover, many unnamed MP’s flit in and out of the frame, each seeming to fit one or other of the following stereotypes: an eccentric, an entitled snob, or a weirdo. Is it really this bad? Are the people who run our country really so self-serving, so self-aggrandising? Is Britain’s government system really so flawed and so filled with inappropriate members? I wasn’t always so cynical, but these days, I fear there is only one answer to all of the above....more
I’ve been a fan of Elton John’s music since the early ‘70s, a time in which he’d release up to three albums in a twelve month period. But it wasn’t unI’ve been a fan of Elton John’s music since the early ‘70s, a time in which he’d release up to three albums in a twelve month period. But it wasn’t until the release of his biographical album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) that I became aware of the close collaboration between Elton, who composed the music, and Bernie, who wrote the lyrics for the songs. Whilst Elton became all glamour and glitz, as the years passed, his song writing partner steadfastly stayed in the shadows. This self-penned story of Bernie’s life therefore throws a good deal of light on a man who’s definitely isn’t the shy and retiring bloke I imagined him to be.
Brought up in the rural eastern English county of Lincolnshire, he walks us through his life in rough chronological order. That said, there are few dates here, so it’s sometimes hard to accurately follow the timeline. He didn’t enjoy school, but always loved music. Eventually he started writing down lines that might later turn into songs. His early influences included American country, R&B, improvisational jazz and even Scottish ‘runt’ Lonnie Donegan. His eventual partnership with Elton John, via an advert in the New Musical Express is, of course, well documented.
Taupin constantly refers to himself as a loner, and yet he’s been married four times, has had a lengthy string of girlfriends and lists a number of close friends, in addition to his best buddy Elton. Included in this list are American singer Alice Cooper and ex-Beatle Ringo Starr. His addictions to booze and what he refers to as the White Lady, or the powder, fuelled many late nights as he made the acquaintance of a seemingly endless stream of well-known singers, actors, artists and writers. He comes across as a wonderer, a man who struggles to settle, who is happy to dine and holiday alone, but who is forever seeking stimuli and is always excited to meet new and interesting people.
I listened to an audio version, narrated by John Lee. There were times when I though his delivery wasn’t quite suited to the material, but his jocular pub raconteur drawl definitely worked for the many hilarious anecdotes that pepper this book. In fact, I really can’t recall when I laughed so much. Like most celebrity bios I’ve come across, it drifts into a list of achievements towards the end, but on the whole this is a fine overview of the life of a gifted man who has actually led a particularly varied and interesting life. Highly recommended.
My thanks to Hachette Audio for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
I’ve been an avid reader of Donna Leon’s Venice based Commissario Brunetti mysteries for many years, reading all thirty two episodes and also passing I’ve been an avid reader of Donna Leon’s Venice based Commissario Brunetti mysteries for many years, reading all thirty two episodes and also passing many of them on to my late mum, who eagerly gobbled them up too. So when I spotted that she’d written a memoir, I was really keen to get hold of a copy at the earliest opportunity. But having read it, I’m not quite sure what to make of it. It certainly wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
What I was expecting - perhaps what I was hoping for – was something that would, at least in part, lead me through the journey the author went on whilst writing the Brunetti books: what inspired her, how she gathered information on how policing works in the city, what the catalyst for some of her stories was. In fact, there was only one short section that touched on these books, and this was only in passing.
Does this make it a bad book? No, of course not. Instead, there are many pleasant surprises here as we learn of the author’s early life in America and the wanderlust that subsequently took her all over the world, often at the drop of a hat and with no real means of supporting a lengthy trip abroad. The early sections are anecdotes from her youth, with a particular light shining on her truly inspiring mother, and focus then moves to some memorable episodes from her travels. Later, there are sections focussing on her discovery of Italy, a country she formed a lifelong love affair with, and also her home in Switzerland. Her last piece is a reflection on ageing; Donna has now turned eighty, and yet it’s clear she has adopted a constructive and pragmatic outlook in terms of where she is on her journey through life.
The book really feels like a random collection of memories and adventures but laid out in chronological order. Beyond her early years in America, there is actually very little here about Donna’s personal life, other than references to a number of friendships she built up over the years. The picture it paints is that of a person who has taken chances and been expansive in how she’s chosen to lead her life - a very full life. But it’s a relatively short book, and I just wish there had been more here about her writing. I enjoyed my time with it, but it does feel a bit like a meal that’s missing a course.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic for providing an early reader copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
How can a man, admittedly a very intelligent man, who is so brusque and rude with virtually everyone who works for him, is so maverick in the way he cHow can a man, admittedly a very intelligent man, who is so brusque and rude with virtually everyone who works for him, is so maverick in the way he chops and changes things on a whim and who constantly goes ‘all in’ to back his own judgement – often against the advice of seemingly wise counsel - become the richest man in the world? Or, to turn this question around, is it necessary (or, in fact, essential) to be such a man in order to achieve this level of success?
Isaacson clearly spent a good deal of time observing Musk. He had long discussions with him, regularly swapped messages with him, and talked to many others about him. He’s also well placed to judge him against at least one other man who achieved stellar success as he’d previously written an excellent biography of Steve Jobs, having spent a similar amount of time with the late Apple and Pixar boss. He notes that both shared a propensity to treat people badly and were essentially difficult people to work for, but that each could articulate a clear vision and share a one-track mind on delivery. Both, he says, were not afraid to intimidate and upset people in order to get them to achieve things they believed to be impossible. In passing, he further observes that Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and Bill Gates (Microsoft) – other mega-successful businessmen - are similarly objectionable characters.
I’d previously read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future so I had a reasonable knowledge of Elon’s background. But that was published in 2015, and this book, therefore, brings in more recent events and achievements. It’s also fair to say that Isaacson draws out some insights from the past not covered in the earlier book. For instance, one anecdote tells of how Musk was sent to a summer camp when he was still very young, which featured fighting as a key component of its learning activities. On his first visit, he was on the wrong end of a significant beating, but as he grew, things changed in later visits he was to become one of the beaters of the young and the frail. So perhaps this fed not only his survival instinct but also his determination to prevail.
His relationship with his father, Errol, is covered episodically throughout. Erol is described as a difficult man: temperamental and psychologically abusive. He chastised and criticised Elon consistently through his formative years. His bullying tendencies might be one of the reasons Elon fled his native South Africa at the first opportunity to begin a new life in first Canada and then America. We’re walked through his further education (Queens University, Ontario & University of Pennsylvania) and his business career (Zip2, X.com & PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, SolarCity, Neuralink, The Boring Company, OpenAI and Twitter/X). It is really amazing to think that he was running quite a number of these companies – and at a pretty granular level – at the same time!
There are some great sections on how Musk developed and deployed what he referred to as his ‘algorithm’, which essentially aims to: question every requirement (and I do mean every requirement); delete anything that might be unnecessary (even if some have to be added back later); simplify and optimise every process; accelerate the time cycle; automate if possible. These steps, Musk says, must be completed in strict order, as many times before he’d tried to simplify or automate a process he really should have already deleted. Isaacson cites a good number of examples demonstrating how this works in practice, very effectively saving money and speeding up delivery. Having worked in operations for much of my career, I wish I’d cottoned on to this checklist many years ago – it’s simple but brilliant.
Elon Musk is a man who prefers danger to comfort, loves drama and conflict, has a compelling sense of urgency about everything he does, and can inspire and repel in equal measure. He’s a natural disruptor, a challenger of the status quo, and he has a brilliant mind which allows him to not only vision the big picture but also to understand the micro detail involved in achieving his aims. I wouldn’t want to work for him, but what he’s achieved really is hugely impressive.
Isaacson has done a brilliant job in pulling this biography together, I absolutely loved it....more
Matt Hancock became a household name and face in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Secretary of State for Health and Social Care he regularly feMatt Hancock became a household name and face in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Secretary of State for Health and Social Care he regularly featured in the daily televised press conferences provided by the government. Essentially, he was the man largely responsible for co-ordinating the country’s efforts to combat this plague. To me, he came across as energetic and largely on top of his brief… if a little smarmy. He was forced to resign in June 2021 after his affair with a colleague – and a photograph of the pair disobeying social distancing guidelines – was revealed by a national newspaper. Here he provides his own recollections of the period, from the outbreak of the pandemic through to his resignation.
Set out as a series of diary entries, there’s a good deal here about how key people worked together and sometimes feuded as information was gathered, actions debated and decisions made. The key medical people come out well but a number Hancock’s colleagues less so. Dominic Cummings (Chief Adviser to Boris Johnson) comes across as a real snake, in fact he is accused of doing pretty much everything he could to bring Matt down. He’s clearly a hated figure: again and again he crops up, but never in a good way. It seems that Cummings had been totally let off the leash by Johnson and was a bully who ruled simply by fear, seeking to grab control of pretty much everything. Others that attract the ire of the author include Kate Bingham (chair of the UK Vaccination Taskforce), former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Bingham for constantly trying to undermine efforts to maximise the purchase of vaccine doses and the other two for blatantly playing politics throughout the crisis.
It’s hard to judge how much of what’s here is simply Hancock telling the truth as he saw it or alternatively a tempered version painting him in a better light than he deserves. But he’s a politician and it’s his version of the truth, so there’s are undoubtedly elements here that are self-serving. Either way, I found it interesting to re-visit this grim and dramatic period of our collective history with a decent insight into what went on behind closed doors at the highest level.
As I listened to an audio version of this book, read by Hancock, I realised that I’ve become attuned to his voice, having heard it so often in the past couple of years. I think this added positively to the experience; he’s a persuasive speaker and listening to him walk me through his recollections of this troubled time reminded me just how dark a time this truly was.
My thanks to W.F. Howes Ltd for providing a copy of this audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more
This book comprises a series of essays on the author’s thoughts on writing. They’re structured quite informally, being almost conversational in their This book comprises a series of essays on the author’s thoughts on writing. They’re structured quite informally, being almost conversational in their style. Murakami reflects on his writing life and details how he prepares for and executes particular tasks, be they writing a full novel or something smaller. A few things struck me:
1. In an early piece he ventures that regular readers amount to only one in twenty of the general population. That seems very low to me and might be challenged by a small amount of independent research I’ve carried out (i.e. just a basic Google search). It seems that the figure is hard to pin down and is impacted by such matters who to include or exclude, levels of literacy in some parts of the world etc. But if true, does that make us members of a fairly exclusive club?
2. I didn’t realise that he works as a translator (English to Japanese) in addition to producing his own compositions. He fits this in around his other writing tasks, sometimes to give his mind some release (a breaker) from the intense focus he has on whatever else he’s working on.
3. The number of re-writes he goes through when working on a novel makes it seem like a totally exhausting process. When he’s completed around four re-writes he then seeks views from trusted sources (notably his wife) before launching into even more re-writes. Then he gets the text translated from Japanese to English – using a tried and tested (to him) translator – and only then will he provide a copy to an editor. Then the work with the editor begins…
4. He uses a process of filing away useful pieces of information or thoughts into mental cabinets – he doesn’t write this stuff down. When he’s got enough information stored – but not before – he’ll begin writing. For his novels he hoards his most preciously guarded cabinets.
5. He runs every day for about an hour and has done for thirty years. He believes that for him to write successfully he has to take care of his body as well as his mind. Note: his book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was an inspiration for me to complete my first ultramarathon, something he’s done on a number of occasions.
Overall, a fascinating insight into the mind of this wonderful and, I think, truly original author.
My thanks to Random House UK for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Anna Wintour has been Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine for decades, a workaholic whose somewhat prickly personality has earned her the nickname ‘NuclAnna Wintour has been Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine for decades, a workaholic whose somewhat prickly personality has earned her the nickname ‘Nuclear Wintour’. I’d enjoyed The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown in which Wintour featured as somebody Brown had befriended and sought counsel from when she took up the reins at Vogue’s sister magazine and I’d hoped this biography might offer up similarly spicy account of how a talented and ambitious woman worked her way up to the top of her profession.
Born in England, Anna’s father was editor of the London Evening Standard and her mother, an American with strong family lineage. Consequently, Anna never had to struggle for money. She was always interested in fashion, and after working on a number of smaller publications, she found herself heading up British Vogue. But this was never going to be enough for her. She had her eyes on the ‘big job’ in New York. This book details her journey and, along the way, provides a decent commentary on the daily workings of a fashion magazine. In this respect it’s pretty comprehensive, but what it lacks is some real in-depth insight into the woman herself. This is primarily down to the fact that it’s all pieced together from third-party accounts of events and opinions put forward by friends and foes. It really isn’t anything like the first person account Tina Brown produced.
The picture painted is of a woman whose leadership style is decisive but autocratic, who is controlled but also controlling, and yet despite all the power she wields, it seems that Wintour has an aversion to direct confrontation. It’s also clear that she never engages in small talk with her colleagues. Accordingly, some of her behaviours feel odd and unnecessarily cold – such as her one word feedback to those who present their hard work for her approval (either a positive ‘ok’ or a disdainfully abrupt rejection).
There are certainly elements I found interesting, including sections touching on her associations with Donald Trump, and Harvey Weinstein but for me there was too much focus on descriptions of how any number of fashion shoots played out and the piecing together of various editions of her magazine. Also, a good deal of time is spent discussing what everyone is wearing – Anna, it seems, has zero tolerance for anyone who she considers to be badly dressed. Ultimately, I came away with a feeling that the author had failed to get fully under the skin of this enigmatic lady in this detailed but unfortunately dull telling of her story....more
At school I was required to study two of the Bard’s plays: the one known as The Scottish Play and Twelfth Night. I found the former a real struggle anAt school I was required to study two of the Bard’s plays: the one known as The Scottish Play and Twelfth Night. I found the former a real struggle and way too grim but rather enjoyed the humour in the latter. But I’ve never returned to Shakespeare’s work, in truth I just find the language rather impenetrable, just too much like hard work to battle through. But I am somewhat curious about the man considered perhaps the finest writer of them all and I’ve long admired Bryson’s ability to tell a story, so why not give this exploration a go.
The first thing I noted is that not much is actually known about the man, not much at all. A good deal of what has been written or spoken about him by others is essentially based on supposition or is even pure guesswork. Therefore the story of his life here is very slim pickings indeed. There’s then quite a lot about his work: the order it was written (also not really known), how it was staged (cheaply and with very few frills) and some context on the London he lived in and other writers who might be considered his rivals.
At this point, perhaps half way through or maybe a little less, I started to feel about this book as I did about the play you’re not supposed to name - i.e. it was failing to pique my interest sufficiently to motivate me carry on ploughing through it. I gave up. It’s not that it’s a bad book or that I feel that it won’t suit others – I really think it will for those that have a real interest in the man or his work - it’s just that it wasn’t working for me.
I’ve upped my standard one star award for books I fail to finish as I’m blaming myself here for picking a book that really wasn’t suited to me. ...more
I have to say that part two of Levy’s three-piece memoir set is a different proposition to the first part. And I mean that in a very good way. To someI have to say that part two of Levy’s three-piece memoir set is a different proposition to the first part. And I mean that in a very good way. To some extent I found Things I Don’t Want to Know something if a trial to get through but this book - structured differently, with a long list of short chapters as opposed to three longer sections – really is an absolute joy. It covers the period immediately following the breakup of her marriage, which although specific dates aren’t provided occurred when she was in her fifties. Along with her two girls, she moved into a cold flat on a London hill, where the corridors were dingy and the only place she could find to write was a minuscule balcony. She’d soon adopt a friend’s shed she’d as her writing space, which she attended in all weathers and in which she managed to complete three books.
Levy has a sharp eye when it comes to assessing people, is insightful in pointing out key moments of learning in her life and possesses seemingly no ego at all. As I worked my way through her small adventures I found myself smiling a lot and laughing regularly too. But then she’d hit me with a reflection or a memory that would be poignant enough stop me in my tracks. The sections covering her mother’s illness and subsequent death being particularly impactful. The whole thing is amazingly good. Now I can’t wait to read part three.
My thanks to Penguin Books (UK) for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review....more
1. He’d delivered seven minutes of venom to the likes of Jack Lemon and Al Pacino in my favourite film of all tiI knew only four things about Baldwin:
1. He’d delivered seven minutes of venom to the likes of Jack Lemon and Al Pacino in my favourite film of all time, Glengarry Glen Ross. 2. He played the part Dave Robicheaux, my favourite literary character, in the film Heaven’s Prisoners – a film I’ve never actually seen. 3. He played a passable Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. 4. He has three brothers who are also actors.
I learned quite a bit more from this audiobook, read by the author. The main points being:
- He has five siblings, and they grew up, dirt poor, on Long Island New York. - He and Kim Basinger shared bumpy marriage – I think I actually knew that, but I’d forgotten it.
Most of the rest of this book is a lengthy (and I do mean lengthy) list of every film, play or tv show he’s ever played a part in and just about everyone he ever worked with is name dropped. He read his own story as though he were bored with it, or maybe bored and also upset by it.
My favourite bits were his candid views on those who didn’t float his boat. For example:
Oliver Stone: would throw his on other down a flight of stairs if it would help him get his project financed, get the shot he wanted, or simply get his way
Jerry Lee Lewis: was an arsehole
I struggled through to the finish, but in truth, it didn’t particularly float my boat....more
Although I’m not a big watcher of films these days, I’ve often enjoyed books penned by film people: Bryan Cranston, Frank Langella, David Lynch, DavidAlthough I’m not a big watcher of films these days, I’ve often enjoyed books penned by film people: Bryan Cranston, Frank Langella, David Lynch, David Niven and Ethan Hawke have all written books that are amongst the most enjoyable I’ve ever read or listened too. I think it’s because (to me at least) it’s an exciting world, full of great stories and big characters. But these people – all men, I’ve just noticed, though this is not by conscious design - are also all articulate and have interesting, sometimes quirky and often hilarious things to say.
So what of Oliver Stone? He was a bit of an unknown quantity to me, I’d seen Midnight Express – a film he’d written a screenplay for – but none of his other work, for which he’d either received a writing credit or had actually directed and/or produced. His account takes us from his early life, with an ambitious father and flighty French mother, through his brief time at college followed by escape to a teaching stint in Asia and then enlisting as a grunt to fight a war in Vietnam. The latter had a profound effect in him, he returned haunted but hardened.
He knew he wanted to make films and enlisted at NYU Film School where he was tutored by Martin Scorsese. He learned to make his films ‘personal’ but despite some early success with a very short piece about a soldier returning from war he was to find that his entry into professional film making was to be through writing. He wrote many screenplays, most of which were soundly rejected, and he eventually found success through his work on Scarface and Midnight Express. His early directorial efforts were fairly lamentable but he went all in with Salvador, a film he created from concept to final form, and then had a similar experience with Platoon. The former received critical success, Platoon broke box office records.
Personal struggles centred on a cocaine habit, born in Vietnam, and an immense drive that made him difficult to work with. Throughout this book Stone is brutally honest about his own failings and those of people he’s come across in both in his personal and professional life. A case in point is actor James Woods, who starred in his film Salvador. He has barely a civil word to say about the man through his account of the filming but then confides that they later formed a lasting friendship and subsequently worked together often. Stone also provides a fascinating insight into how films are made, particularly the financing element. He came close to going broke a number of times.
I’m not sure that I came away liking the man - he’s just too harsh, too full-on for me – but I certainly developed a significant amount of admiration for the way he’s battled his way through life. Well, that’s only partly true because this is only part of the story: the book ends after the filming of Wall Street, in 1987. If I feel a little cheated then I can offset this with the hope that part two of his memoirs is to follow at some future date. Such is the power of this account that I know I’ll be at the front of the queue for that one....more
I’d enjoyed elements of several of her books (Swimming Home, Hot Milk and especially The Man Who Saw Everything). I thought her stories quirky, her diI’d enjoyed elements of several of her books (Swimming Home, Hot Milk and especially The Man Who Saw Everything). I thought her stories quirky, her dialogue taught and interesting, but I found her characters sometimes hard to like, and a couple of her stories I found a little soulless. So I thought it would be interesting to delve into the life of this author a little to discover what experiences might have helped shape this person. But this is no ordinary autobiography: to start with it’s really very short - the first part of a trilogy of memoirs - and secondly its structure is really that of an extended essay, in fact a response to Orwell’s Why I Write.
Unfortunately, I haven’t read the Orwell piece, so I’m not able to comment on this aspect. But it’s clear that the early pages are a response to something, with opinions and erudite quotes sprinkled amongst a brief account of a trip to Majorca. This trip occurred within the past ten years (her references to her writing confirms this) and it seems that the island provides a retreat she returns to when she needs to escape, to reflect and to refresh herself. In truth, it’s an island I’ve visited many times and always with some of the same outcomes in mind!
The remainder of the books touches on her early life in South Africa, a time in which her ANC supporting father was one day arrested and taken away – she wouldn’t see him again for four years. Then there’s a section when, as a teenager living in a North London suburb, she reflects on her time as a rebellious would be writer living ‘in exile’. These anecdotes paint vivid pictures of both time and place and show something of what her early life must have comprised.
I’m not quite sure how to rate this one. There’s enough here to pull me back for part two, but I had felt my mind wondering through the first section, in particular. It’s a taster menu when I was up for a full three courses with all the trimmings. I got a sense of things and enjoyed much of what was there, but without finding it fully satisfying. However, I’m in a generous mood, so I’ll go with three and half stars rounded up to four.
My thanks to Penguin for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
I’ve read a good deal of Lawrence Block’s output and along the way I’ve learned a reasonable amount about his life – well, in all honesty I’ve really I’ve read a good deal of Lawrence Block’s output and along the way I’ve learned a reasonable amount about his life – well, in all honesty I’ve really only previously learned about his life since he became a successful writer of crime fiction novels. There have been glimpses of how things played out for him prior to this, in some short pieces he’s published and random anecdotes I’ve come across, but really nothing substantial. However, on his 83rd birthday (June 24th, 2021) he self-published this book detailing his formative years as a writer – his ‘apprenticeship’, as he calls it. About half of this book was written in a manic sitting in 1994 and the remainder was completed recently, a quarter of a century later.
Block was born in Buffalo, New York and attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His ambition to become a self-sustaining writer came early and by the mid-to-late 1950’s he was already churning out sex novels (Block prefers the term classic mid-century erotica) at the rate of a book a month, for a rather paltry fee. These books were printed cheaply, sold in small numbers and Block always penned them under a pseudonym – any one of a few he routinely used or a random name supplied by the publisher. He talks about how he meticulously measured his output in order to produce the minimum number of pages needed to achieve the required quota. These weren’t labours of love, simply a way of earning money by doing what he always wanted to do.
There’s a lot of detail here about the process of producing and selling these books and along the way he describes a few tricks of the trade, such as the fact that inclusion of quite a bit of dialogue not only suited his own reading preference but also filled up space much more economically than extended, uninterrupted prose. LB does talk about life outside of writing, but this only to a fairly limited extent. These, though, are my favourite segments in this book. His good friend and fellow writer Donald Westlake features quite a bit and there are some interesting and sometimes hilarious reminiscences of the times he spent with Don and of others he bumped into along the way.
It’s clear that LB was something of a workaholic through his period, he muses that all he had to hear was that somebody needed something as fast as possible “and I’ve have the sucker half written before he could hang up the phone”. He’s also evident that he’s always had a compulsive, and potentially addictive nature – if he got a taste for something (coin collecting and alcohol are examples he talks about) then he’d quickly become obsessed with it. In fact, it’s evident that he’s long since attended AA meetings in order to address the latter. He’s also honest about his fear of failure at this early point in his career: he’d found an agent who was able to place his material with willing publishers but he was reluctant to step outside of this arrangement even though it might provide greater reward and potentially increase his opportunity to broaden his horizons.
Eventually, though, he gathered together a few bits of input he’d garnered from conversations and the Encyclopaedia Britannica (his go to reference tool) and wrote what turned out to be his game changing book: The Thief Who Couldn’t Sleep. The hero of this novel – Evan Tanner, a man who never slept – would re-appear in five subsequent books. Block would go on to write successful series featuring Bernie Rhodenbarr (bookseller by day and burglar by night), troubled New York PI matt Scudder and a stamp collecting hit man called Keller, to name but a few. But this particular account terminates at the publication of the first Tanner book, in 1966.
This is clearly a very personal book, LB having chosen not to employ an editor who might ‘filter’ his words. This decision also helped him to bring the book to market quite a bit earlier than might otherwise have been the case – not a bad idea, he reflects, for someone of his age. But it’s also always been his inclination to do things at speed. It’s possible that we may not see another fictional novel from this prolific writer, he uses up his final few pages reflecting on his own mortality as he sits in his Greenwich Village abode whilst New York, the city he always gravitated to, continues to battle the coronavirus outbreak that has impacted us all. If that's to be the case the case then at least I have the comfort of knowing that there are in excess of a hundred titles he’s penned that I’ve yet to catch up with (I've read a number of his early books and some of them are really pretty good).
Lawrence Block is one of my favourite writers of crime fiction - for information the others include James Lee Burke, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, John Sandford and Donna Leon (and I could easily add half a dozen more). Amongst all of these Block is the writer most willing and able to vary his mood and style: Rhodenbarr is funny, Scudder is complex and dour and Keller is something of an enigma. There are other examples too of this flexibility of in his wider catalogue. In my view he truly is a master of his craft and this memoire provides a valuable insight in describing how he started out on his writing journey....more
Early on, Ryder muses that most people have heard of the band Motley Crew because of their much covered hell-raising but probably couldn’t name a singEarly on, Ryder muses that most people have heard of the band Motley Crew because of their much covered hell-raising but probably couldn’t name a single record they’d made. Well, that’s precisely how I feel about the Happy Mondays. Ryder and his mate Bez – the one who prances about on stage but adds nothing of any substance to the music – are well known for their regular television appearances (Celebrity Gogglebox, Celebrity Mastermind and Celebrity Big Brother to name but a few), but I’m a total stranger to their musical output – and they’ve been going for around forty years! In truth, I’m sure I’ve heard some of it, but I just can’t call a single song to mind.
I’d thought that this would be simply a series of anecdotes but actually it’s a (semi) serious attempt to provide some guidance to anyone starting out on the long and treacherous road to rock stardom. And in addition there are plenty of anecdotes here too, as well as a decent history of the band and their various travails as well as reflections on Ryder’s time with his other ensemble, Black Grape. Mixed in with this are a few pearls of wisdom such as: do your own thing and make sure you practice. Okay, there’s a bit more than that but you get my drift. It’s actually good fun, with the audio version I listened to being narrated by the author himself. He states early on that he’s long suffered from ADHD and I think this comes across a little in his rapid and somewhat ranting delivery.
This book will definitely appeal to fans of the band – I’ve now tracked down a few of the Monday’s tracks and I confess that I’m not about to join that particular club – and to anyone thinking about starting up a band. Seriously, there actually are some fairly basic, but nonetheless precious, pointers here.
My thanks to W. F. Howes Ltd for providing a copy of this audiobook vis NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
Gavin Barwell is a British politician who was appointed Chief of Staff to then Prime Minister Theresa May shortly after losing his seat as Member of PGavin Barwell is a British politician who was appointed Chief of Staff to then Prime Minister Theresa May shortly after losing his seat as Member of Parliament for Croydon Central, in 2017. Before losing his seat he’d held the role of Minister of State for Housing and Planning. In this book he focuses on his time working for May and primarily on her attempts to agree a Brexit deal with the European Union that she then hoped to get accepted by the British Parliament.
I was aware of Barwell although in his role as CoS he was very much a background figure during May’s reign – political advisers being banned from giving interviews by their Code of Conduct. Here he initially provides quite a bit of detail about how the parliamentary machine works - somewhat interesting but bone dry – before launching into accounts of the major issues his boss had to address during her time as PM. At the top of the list was her desire (need) to ‘deliver’ Brexit. Secondary issues, but nonetheless major challenges in their own right, were: Grenfell, MeToo and Windrush and Northern Ireland.
Barnwell, who narrates the audio version I listened to himself, comes across as driven, highly intelligent and loyal. He also had a few good stories to tell, some light-hearted in-fill before the serious business to come. His accounts of how the secondary issues were addressed felt a bit too procedural for my personal taste, with lots of political language and bullet pointed actions. I found the content, though, very interesting and, at times, highly illuminating. But the real meat in the pie is his lengthy description of the Brexit negotiations and the wrangling with fellow politicians (in his own party as much as the opposition) and with officials from the EU.
Although anyone who owned a television or a phone through that period couldn’t help but find much of the detail familiar, it was the hidden haggling and arguing that I found particularly fascinating. This element certainly put a new slant on some of the key moments in that period and showed up just how self-serving so many politicians are – Boris, in particular, comes across very badly in this regard (no real surprise there). Another feeling I had reinforced is that of how manipulative politicians can be – again, not a surprise but it didn’t feel good to be reminded of the fact. There were also lies, deceit and backstabbing aplenty – and that was just amongst May's own team!
Some of the closing thoughts in the book relate to what might have happened with regard to Brexit if a few things had gone slightly differently. This is sobering stuff and demonstrated to me how small acts can have such significant consequences. Overall I found this to be an interesting account of a key period of political history for the UK. Unedifying as it sometimes is it’s how politics works, how big decisions are reached and how key impacts on all of us come about.
My thanks to W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for providing a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review....more
Paul Theroux is a writer I much admire, I’ve read and hugely enjoyed a dozen of his books (a mix of novels and travelogues but also a compendium of esPaul Theroux is a writer I much admire, I’ve read and hugely enjoyed a dozen of his books (a mix of novels and travelogues but also a compendium of essays). He’s clearly a clever guy, with a keen eye for what is interesting and an arresting way of capturing it in words. In his own writing he sometimes refers to his time living in England, with his English wife, although the short(ish) references tend to be slanted towards the negative. So when this book caught my eye I was keen to investigate what the view from the other side of the fence looked like: what was Paul like to live with from the perspective of his wife of twenty two years.
Anne had met Paul in Africa when they were both living and working there as young, idealistic adventurers. They conceived their first child Marcel, got married and then a couple of years later their second child, Louis (now a well-known television documentarian) came along. After leaving Africa they spent three years in Singapore before settling in London. Paul, a workaholic, spent much of his time writing and travelling (mainly alone) to gather material for his travelogues. He was also a woman magnet and his philandering ways are well documented in this book. But Anne strayed too during her husband’s long absences. They admitted their transgressions to each other (or at least Paul admitted some of them) creating an ever turbulent relationship. Eventually they agreed to a trial separation for six months. This book is based on a diary Anne kept through the twelve months that followed.
Her diary entries are somewhat sporadic, often cryptic (she sometimes has trouble interpreting them herself) and to aid comprehension she provides additional insight by way of a commentary as we work through them. It’s a difficult time for her both personally and professionally and it’s clear she was really struggling to hold her life together throughout this whole period. She still loved Paul, and maybe Paul still loved her, but their communication through this year was minimal and she tended to keep track of her husband’s activities through third-hand reports received from mutual friends or family members. It’s a sad and sometimes upsetting account, and yet I found it to be totally absorbing to read.
It felt to me that Anne was being brutally honest here about her own failings as well as what she saw as Paul’s inherent weaknesses and his shortfalls as a partner. The pair eventually divorced and both subsequently entered new long term relationships. It seems that they are now able to communicate cordially and that they meet infrequently but on friendly terms. Anne also qualified as a relationships counsellor, coincidentally collecting her diploma the day before Paul re-married.
I found this to be an engrossing account of the breakdown of a marriage and it’s impacts. I personally learned good deal about behaviour, recovery and how we react to setbacks in our life. If it has a drawback it’s that it is almost wholly downbeat in tone – hard to avoid, in truth, given the circumstances – and so this book is probably best digested with this in mind. Nonetheless, I highly recommend it.
My thanks to Icon Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
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