A certain book

Yes GSM I got the impression that the confusion about events was partly trauma and partly substances.
I am not defending Harry btw, there are times when I felt sorry for him and times when I certainly didn't. I just think that if you read the book you understand a bit more of the why.

Mamie it also gives you an insight into the effects of taking drugs over a long period l

Yes Joseanne, it isn't about what he says or does in the book, it is the between and beyond the lines bit that is fascinating.

varian

If Harry thinks it's unkind for people to make fun of his book, can he not see that he's been rather unkind to his family?

I think that is his problem. Too blinkered, too self centered, too thick.

I think that is interesting varian. He clearly has talents, I don't think you get to fly Apache helicopters in the front line if you are incompetent. He does seem to be totally uninterested in literature and even history (😮) so I suspect that gives him little insight into the way other people think, behave and feel. You do get a feeling of arrested development when his mother died, including the fact that he thought for a long time that she had just disappeared to get away for a bit.

but if you are interested in the human condition then it makes a fascinating read.
That's the sort of thing that is interesting in this discussion, that you, Mamie, having read it, give a balanced view.
(I remember once wanting to discuss Meghan's book The Bench on GN and got told it was another nasty mean spirited excuse to carry on kicking Meghan. I'm glad we have all moved on from those sort of insults here).

I suspect that H lacks the emotional maturity to even consider how his book, the Oprah interview, Netflix series and numerous interviews have impacted on his family, and the negative impact they've had on him.

If Harry thinks it's unkind for people to make fun of his book, can he not see that he's been rather unkind to his family?

Oh what did Harry say?

merlotgran

I downloaded the free sample on to my kindle and was immediately drawn in by the feeling that I was about to enjoy a spine chilling murder mystery. Shades of Daphne du Maurier and Susan Hill set the scene.

Then I reminded myself it was an autobiography, expertly ghosted although, even in a short extract, facts had not been as thoroughly checked as they should have been.

I can understand why some might find it a page turner and believe every word but I won’t be buying it.

Neither of those Merlotgran, but a fascinating insight into the impact of bereavement and a dysfunctional childhood on a vulnerable boy growing up in an extraordinary environment. The factual errors are annoying, the lack of thought about the impact on others distressing, but if you are interested in the human condition then it makes a fascinating read.

LauraNorderr

My daughter-in-law has sent me the whole copy via WhatsApp. So freebies are out there.
Lots of ruthless people making good money out of a tragic situation. He’s being used and abused by the very people he detests, journalists. Poor damaged and naive young man running out of control.

Does this mean people are selling pirated versions?

Mollygo

SueDonim

I don’t need to read it as I’ve read John Crack’s précis.
Thanks for the link.
Have you seen Harry’s comment about the unkindness of people making fun of his book?

No?

SueDonim

I don’t need to read it as I’ve read John Crack’s précis.
Thanks for the link.
Have you seen Harry’s comment about the unkindness of people making fun of his book?

Non-fiction lover here. I follow what the Royals are up to, and have read many books/biographies on them.
If I think it’s going to be a juicy read I am one of the first to pre-order for my Kindle! Strangely, I have not ordered this book! Yet. I’m still scratching my head over this action. There has been so much already dissected in our media over the contents, I feel all of the headline-grabbing parts have been exposed.
I adore Harry, will always go for the underdog. They are just like any other family, although under a microscope. It ain’t easy living like that.
Cheers!
USA Gundy

I think that is particularly true GagaJo if you have a degree in literature where you were expected to analyse every adjective, adverb, the syntax etc for nuances. It actually put me off reading for pleasure for years.
Hopefully Harry's style will be around GCSE level.

Joseanne

I might actually be of the opinion that a "thinking person" would be exactly who is needed because the writing appears to be on so many different levels.
I wonder if it is one of those books that leaves the reader totally knackered exhausted by the end, as the emotional stuff drains you totally and the references are pretty haphazard? Or maybe it just sends you to sleep?
DD is taking her time reading it and passing it on, but then she does have covid which may be affecting her ability to think.

Good point. I started reading the 50 Shades book years ago. It was getting handed rund the staff room. It was so badly written I never got to the sex. I couldn't bear the poor use of language. Shockingly, I gave up on the first Harry Potter I tried too, for the same reason.

I don’t need to read it as I’ve read John Crack’s précis. grin

www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/12/i-was-alone-abandoned-with-only-a-hundred-million-in-the-bank-spare-digested-by-john-crace?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Thanks so much for that Sue Donim. I laughed out loud. Brilliant piece. 😂

I've read enough books for thinking people.

I like a nice mystery now.
So - who said what to whom to upset them enough to write a book about it?

I might actually be of the opinion that a "thinking person" would be exactly who is needed because the writing appears to be on so many different levels.
I wonder if it is one of those books that leaves the reader totally knackered exhausted by the end, as the emotional stuff drains you totally and the references are pretty haphazard? Or maybe it just sends you to sleep?
DD is taking her time reading it and passing it on, but then she does have covid which may be affecting her ability to think.

Saggi

Aussiegran 59….no thinking person in England cares either !! Too many excellent thinking persons books to read .

Hmmm, well my post-grad studies were in Literature and I'm still going to read this book.

I'm pretty sure I qualify as a thinking person. Maybe don't enforce your definition of what constitutes 'worthwhile' onto others?

Calendargirl

Although I was 15th on the list at the library, I have been informed that ‘Spare’ is ready for collection by me!

I can only assume that a) the previous 14 borrowers have read it in double quick time, b) after all the hype they have cancelled their request or c) for some reason I have been elevated to the head of the queue!

Whatever, I shall be picking it up tomorrow.

📕

The waiting list usually covers all the libraries within your council. Due to the demand for this book I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a number were bought county wide (more than 15) and the books sent whizzing around by whatever means your reservations travel. That would make you first in the queue.

Aussiegran 59….no thinking person in England cares either !! Too many excellent thinking persons books to read .

Actually Jenn53 I do like non-fiction, I’m just not sure that this book fits that brief.
We can’t prove what exactly what H did say except where we’ve heard it straight from his own mouth on the TV.
Written accounts, even his, are always subject to the writer’s viewpoint and version of “his truth”. Although we can read what he wrote, we can’t know what did or didn’t happen in his life, because evidence has already appeared that his “recollections may vary”.

Since Harry claims that the press have twisted things about him, is he now saying press reporting is perfectly accurate?

Whatever else, we have learnt from his ghost writing, that he is a very bitter and resentful person who, whilst accusing others, truthfully or not, of being unkind, is desperate to act in the same manner that he decries in others.
So be it.
2 more books? And he wants his family to welcome him back (to provide him with more material)?
If they don’t, do we expect another diatribe about how badly he has been treated in the past? If they do, undoubtedly another version if “his truth”.

Norah

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t suppose posters are looking at the niceties of accounting practices. H has received income amounting to millions of dollars by way of an advance and H has paid out of that income a relatively pitiful sum to charity. Accounting practices are irrelevant to the principle that has been the subject of comment.

Perhaps.

With the tax collections and rules for the 2 countries, maybe not. I asked that yesterday, the answer was a bit confusing.

Later I asked brother, he told me "it depends, I pay both - you know my taxes (I help with his books), Harry's tax situation is not available. I've not noted, precisely, how the charity is paid and if it is tax advantaged."

Thank you brother, still unclear.

Perhaps H is donating a large percentage to what he ultimately pocketed? I doubt his accountants will divulge to us.

and maybe he's doing bare minimum which he can offset against.....unbelievable!

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