NORTH FACE OF SOHO: SLIGHT REVIEW
I finished Clive James' "North Face of Soho" this morning.
Hmm. I'm not sure about this one. He's what they call "a great prose stylist"--and I loved two of the other books in the "Unreliable Memoirs" series--but "Soho" doesn't seem to hang together; in places it's more like an extended diary entry, with the author's mind splaying all over the place, whereas the other books had an obvious overarching structure.
And Clive sounds oddly priggish here. Any older man who presumes to share his wisdom with younger minds does. I know this! Your wisdom only serves your own experience; or it is the harvest of your own experience. For somebody else's life, particularly if they are younger than you, it will probably be as useful as a chocolate kettle (as the saying goes). The world reinvents itself every day, along with the rules that govern it.
4 comments:
Infected ear? Hope it's better now.
I'm not too sure, I think that I might have interpreted this post wrong.
I've read plenty of books and biographies. You are right, the wisdom they have gained from their experiences don't do much for others but the authors are in reflection of those experiences. Bah I am shite with words. But in some cases those experiences that they share can be very helpful for example "Don't Whizz on The Electric Fence" (kids song from Ren and Stimpy) Lesson obvious there.
Some of the biographies I have read, for example when issues raised are related to Eating Disorders. I know just how bad and dark and twisted things get. Sure, their writing gives me proof that I'm not really alone or different or special. But lessons learned?
Wait. Guess not. Been there done that.
Their experiences are just another dimension of mine.
You're right :)
mmmm, chocolate kettles. :)
-- Glenn
Holl,
No, I think you got the post right. There are places in the book where James comes across as an arrogant old man, that's all, and I recognise (with a certain horror), the same voice in me. I've learned a lot from the places I've been and the people I've hurt, but there's no point in me trying to use what I have learned as some blueprint for future generations because a) youth never listens anyway (I certainly didn't), and b) the world is completely different for, say, an 18-year-old now than it was when I was 18. What failed for me might work now; and what worked might fail.
But maybe, as you suggest, it doesn't hurt to risk putting these things down and hazard coming across as a bit of a twat just in case it has some value to somebody, somewhere along the line. My autobiography, if I ever wrote it, would at least serve as a kind of prolonged comedy of errors.
Ah yes, that's the way to go. A Comedy of Errors.
Hurry up and get on your deathbed already!! I want a good book!!
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