Unreliable Memoirs [Paperback]

clive James (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Picador (1984)
• ASIN: B001KTK852
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,897,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this in a public place!, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Unreliable Memoirs (Hardcover)

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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroic recollection of an Australian childhood, October 25, 2004

By 

T. Bently "tbently" (Berkshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unreliable Memoirs (Hardcover)

"Unreliable 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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh until you cry, January 13, 2000

By 

D Campion (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

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.