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The Fire of Joy: Roughly eighty poems to get by heart and say aloud |
You can hear his antipodean twang in every verse he chooses for this eclectic anthology. The author's lifetime love affair with words that he has memorised is matched by his wry and peerless commentary on each of his choices. Though compiled towards the end of his life when he was bed-ridden and unable to return to the country of his birth, it is shot through with humour and vitality. A truly generous human being.
(Jeremy Miller - bwl 104 Spring 2022) |
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Unreliable Memoirs |
This is the funniest book I have ever read. Clive James's memories of growing up in Australia say as much about the country as they do about him and, being a near contemporary Australian, this was a real nostalgia trip. 'Unreliable' they may be, but so much is true. My English husband read it as well, and we were both still laughing days later. Has to be the perfect antidote to COVID gloom and lockdown blues.
(Denise Lewis - bwl 99 Winter 2021) |
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Unreliable Memoirs & Falling Towards England |
Revisiting the first two volumes of James's memoirs is like rediscovering an old friend. I had forgotten just how accomplished a word-smith he is - his verbal fireworks make me laugh as much as his wry self appraisal, the hilarious muddles, hopeless attempts and occasional successes of his journey from Australian childhood to the first steps on the ladder of fame and fortune. I thoroughly recommend these (and probably the third, when I can find it!).
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 38 February 2007) |
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