Unreliable Memoirs (Unreliable Memoirs, 1)

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She covered the ground like Marjoric Jackson, the girl who later became famous as the Lithgow Flash. The other big event of that year was the outbreak of the Second World War, but for the moment, that did not affect me .

Unreliable Memoirs Series by Clive James - Goodreads

In December 2009, James talked about the P-51 Mustang and other American fighter aircraft of World War II in The Museum of Curiosity on BBC Radio 4. This makes it a very compelling read and it is well served by Clive James' clear prose and perfect comic timing. All the funny stuff happens in childhood - and to give him credit, the whole thing was colourful and well-written enough to push me through to the end, although I admit to skimming the last few chapters. At some points in the book I wondered what was the relevance of some of the detail, and at other points I was fascinated.But Clive is so profoundly entertaining that you can't help but learn something by watching his act. The Metropolitan Critic (1974), his first collection of literary criticism, was followed by At the Pillars of Hercules (1979), From the Land of Shadows (1982), Snakecharmers in Texas (1988), The Dreaming Swimmer (1992), Even As We Speak (2001), The Meaning of Recognition (2005) and Cultural Amnesia (2007), a collection of miniature intellectual biographies of over 100 significant figures in modern culture, history and politics.

Unreliable Memoirs, Autobiography by Clive James - Booktopia Unreliable Memoirs, Autobiography by Clive James - Booktopia

When he proposed to run away in traditional style, the threat was dealt with by the preparation of peanut-butter sandwiches and pyjamas. J. O’Rourke singing the praises of „Unreliable Memoirs“, which we‘re told is not only „every thinking persons’memoir“, „something new that no one has done before or will do again“ but „the best memoir in the world“ by „the best-read person he’s ever known“. He described the outfit Cher wore in her 1989 music video of " If I Could Turn Back Time" as a "Dress-less Evening Strap". At university, he contributed to the student newspaper, Honi Soit, and directed the annual students' union revue.Meanwhile this longing has to be seen as inseparable from the longing for a country of the past, and of the mind, and for his own irrecoverable, and at the time highly insecure, childhood. Many years ago I remember being given this book for my birthday with the comment "thought you might like this, he's the sort of droll smart-arse commentator that should appeal to you". Andrew Collins on working with Clive James: "to collaborate with him was like winning a competition" ". James unfalteringly trapezes with grace between fart jokes and arcane literary references, poetic natural descriptions and angst-ridden teenage neuroses, in an admittedly half-fabricated journey through a youth that despite its hyperbole reveals a picture in which maybe everyone can see a part of their own childhood.