Customer Reviews

A Drink with Shane MacGowan

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book was a major disappointment for me, I write annoyingly. It seems the "author" had a deadline to meet and threw this trash together at the last minute, I write this time frustratingly. If you like reading an adverb at the end of every sentence this is the book for you. The author has an amazing subject to work with here and chooses to simply mail it in. I can't believe the publisher let her get away with this. If I ever meet this author I will ask for my money back quickly. I teach third grade and most of my students write better than this garbage. I wish I never bought it, I end this review disappointedly.

Shane MacGowan is sort of a thinking man's hooligan, or a hooligan's thinking man. Due to this rare combination, one would expect that he has some terrific stories to tell, and this book doesn't disappoint in that respect. It ranges all over the map, from his fascinatingly unusual childhood to his London punk days to his time with the Pogues and to the present; from discussions of literature to history to music to religion.

The book is a transcription of taped question-and-answer sessions he had with his wife (Victoria Mary Clarke). There are two problems with this:

First of all, Clarke seems to not know when to shut up and let Shane go. He's often in the middle of some great story, and when he pauses seemingly to take a breath, she interrupts with some unrelated question. This leads to another great story, of course, but the reader is left with the feeling that there was much more to the first one, which will now never be heard.

The second problem is that Clarke periodically interrupts the transcription with italicized comments about the current setting of the interview (e.g. that they are in the airport during the taping, or that Shane picks up a pack of cigarettes, or whatever). This wouldn't be so bad, except that she has a horrible habit of treating these as opportunities for self-aggrandization: stuff like "Victoria looks resplendent as she sips her wine", or "Victoria daintily smiles, glorious as always". Perhaps these are meant as self-effacing sarcasm, but they sure come off as ridiculously obnoxious. After a while, I found myself skipping any text in italics.

Other than those things, though, this is a fun book; though she seemingly tried, Clarke simply could not take the fun out of MacGowan's stories.

I finally was able to read a book about a huge influence in my life. I would rather really have a drink with MacGowan, but the odds are not very good, so i'll settle for the text. The text is mostly written by Shane's wife/Girlfriend. What I got from this book was a huge eight part interview between Victoria, and Shane. The interviews varied from a cottage in Ireland, to a conversation at a pub. The book starts out with Shane reflecting his childhood in Ireland, and how his family moved throughout England, and how much he hated leaving Tippary, Ireland. I thought that was by far the best part of the book, and not the rantings and ravings about how bitter he seems about the breakup of The Pogues, or how he got nicked by the coppers, or sent to the looney bin. It was a good read, but not a great one. Some of Shane's answers vary from question to question, and Victoria even reminds him about it. I feel Mr. O'Hooligan (MacGowan)comes across as a brilliant, yet moody, sensitive poet/songwriter, who has been a part of a great period in music, from the beginning of U.K. punk, to the beginning of Celtic/Pirate/Punkrock. instead of the more traditional Celtic music, Shane helped the world hear Celtic music from a more modern punkrock type of angle. And look how far that "type" of music has come!!! From The Dropkick Murphys in Boston, To The Flogging Mollys In L.A., via one lead singer from Dublin. The Book is something every Shane/Pogues fan should have, but then again as a fan it's the only book I have(On the subject of Shane) A word of warning; I feel like Shane really didn't talk about the upside of being in the Pogues, because he seems to almost knock the other members of the band more than once. (Although he does have a Handwritten Apology on the last page in the book that says something like "I was only speaking from the Heart..." A heart still bitter about the breakup of The Pogues. The most important part of the book is when Shane explains how much he really truly loves his emerald isle of Ireland. That part was the best part of the book. Do give it a read!!

I love the Pogues. I love to read about music. I love to read about the creative process, especially from songwriters. And I consider Shane MacGowan to be a brilliant songwriter. This book, however, is a stream of drunken conversations about his life, his opinions, explanations that he's not really that much of a racist, bragging about his ability to bed fans, etc. The main problem, though, is that his songs boil down his experiences to the essentials, giving brilliant snapshots of certain times, places and characters. These rambling, unedited accounts almost seem like an attempt to give merit to his detractors that say he's not much more than a mouthy drunk. The DVD "If I Should Fall..." balances the two very well. This doesn't even try.

Forget what those pompous pricks say in their official review. The book's format works fine for true MacGowan fans. I rather liked Victoria's " stage directions, " as the reviewers call them, and Shane's humor had me laughing pretty damned hard. This book is a " must read " for any Pogues and/or MacGowan fan !

A Drink with Shane MacGowan is a great read not only for fans and those curious about the break up of the Pogues but those who enjoy a bit of craic or great storytelling. One gets a peek inside a very unique and brilliant mind and also gains knowledge of interesting bits of Irish and punk era history. The somewhat maligned question and answer format is, in fact, an engaging way to shed light on the relationship between MacGowan and his closest companion. While leading to a greater understanding of the man himself, it acquaints the reader with Clarke, an interesting character in her own right. An established writer, she peppers the banter with lighthearted sarcasm, humorously toying with writing styles much in the way of Joyce (another first year English lit. groupie!)
All in all it is a great book with a pint in a quiet corner of your favorite pub but works as well with tea and flannel pajamas - highly recommended!

Forget what those pompous pricks say in their official review. The book's format works fine for true MacGowan fans. I rather liked Victoria's " stage directions, " as the reviewers call them, and Shane's humor had me laughing pretty damned hard. This book is a " must read " for any Pogues and/or MacGowan fan !

This book is a series of interviews/chats conducted by Shane's wife(Victoria Mary Clarke). The format allows for some great storytelling about his past and family and helps to understand how he is the way he is. Great read for any fans of the shane MacGowan, the Pogues, or Ireland in general.

I was elated when I stumbled across this book. As a huge Shane Macgowan and The Pogues fan I could not wait to hear the insight and drunken ramblings that awaited. What a disaster of a book! The question and answer format is painful as his wife (or 1st year Enlish lit. groupie) delivers tone setting (I guess) descriptives of the scene by annoyingly ending each sentence in an adjective. Totally pompous writing. Besides the style, there is not much meat here either. The Pogues and Shane's fall out with the Pogues is virtually glossed over. Besides some the ear biting incident at the Pistols show and some often heard before recounting of life as a drunken teenage punk there is not much more. If any of you have seen the BBC documentary on Shane entitled "The Great Hunger" this book adds nothing more. Although nothing could lessen my sense of awe with Shane's songwriting, the book (like "The Great Hunger") only reinforces the pathetic nature of Shane's life outside of music.

"A drink with Shane MacGowan" is a series of recorded interviews with Shane by longtime girlfriend Victoria Clarke. It is an interesting approach and Victoria gets Shane to open up in ways the media, of course, would be unable to. The beginning of the London punk scene, family, drugs/drink, racism, religion, authors, the end of the Pogues and his life's philosophy are just a few of the many topics covered by Shane and Victoria. Also included are some handwritten songs and drawings which were a cool touch and greatly contribute to the book. The only downside to this book was Victoria's overdone, heavy handed (and self complimentary) chapter introductions. But these will be easily forgiven, for this is a fascinating conversation with an amazing songwriter. Definitely recommended for any music, Pogues/Popes or punk fans.