Unreliable Memoirs

Rating:
Summary: Heroic recollection of an Australian childhood
Review: "Unrelaible Memoirs" is Clive James' description of his upbringing in a Sydney suburb lasting up to the time of his university education. I was expecting it to be funny but wasn't quite prepared for the raw emotion and literary skill displayed on virtually every page.

To me this is the most impressive of James' autobiographical writing. He has a gift for describing childhood and a kind of relentless honesty which is hilarious and provides something of a turbulent rollercoaster ride for the reader, as he describes the trauma of being a single child to a single parent in the aftermath of the Second World War.

I felt a little left behind by many of the historical and literary references James makes but this is more than made up for by the relish with which he uses the English language. For example, he describes a friend's mother giving him buttered bread covered with hundreds and thousands as like "eating a slice of powdered rainbow".

"Unreliable Memoirs" made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end - I wish I had read it years ago.



Rating:
Summary: old age . I never thought the cornflakes would leave me .
Review: For those of you who have visited Australia in recent years , it may come as a shock to you that Clive James was the man who discoverd it . Jumping from captain Cooks ship ,when the hostile crew had threatened to eat him if he risked another witism . He discovered that the land was free from parking meters . " Well boil mi billy can , cobbers , this is the place for me " . So young clive tried his hand at acting, but was disillusioned ,when James coburn was cast as the aussie in the great escape . " He sounds more real than you Clive " . "Strewth i'll have a lash at journalism " . The rest is history . A raft back to blighty . A year as an assistant to clark kent , then unexpected fame as a latex puppet on spitting image . Its all here the unreliable memoirs, of the boy from Melbourne ,The land bought by Batman .

Rating:
Summary: Don't read this in a public place!
Review: I am only 13 but i could appreciate every bit in sheer briliance of a book. I could not put it down it was so funny. I strongly recommend this book, carefull through if you read it in public be prepared to laugh out loud and humilate your self.

Rating:
Summary: Sheer brillance
Review: I am only 13 but i could appreciate every bit in sheer briliance of a book. I could not put it down it was so funny. I strongly recommend this book, carefull through if you read it in public be prepared to laugh out loud and humilate your self.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read while drinking anything hot
Review: One of the funniest books you'll ever read. Especially recommended for anyone who has ever been a kid, Australian, in love, in lust, in trouble, at university or has had a head that sticks out at the back.

Rating:
Summary: Laugh until you cry
Review: The imagery used in this story is the best I have read.

I could not put the book down and embarrassed myself by laughing out loud on the London Underground!

As a female with no brothers this book was an amusing insight into what goes on in (not so) little boys' minds.

Definately a must read book.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read this in a public place!
Review: This would have to be the best offering from Clive James that I have read. His acerbic wit makes for great reading. I found this text on a bookshelf in a beach holiday house and was immediately captivated. I lost count of the amount of times that I not only laughed out loud, I snorted with appreciation and had to wipe tears from my eyes (much to the consternation of those around me) He captures the innocence of childhood with fleeting glimpses of maturity like no one has before, proving that he is not just a television presenter but a Rhodes Scholar to boot. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. It would be a shame to tell you more because this is a book that just has to be read to be believed!