Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Spare

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

sydneynorman's review

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dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Title: Spare
Author: Prince Harry
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 10, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Revelatory • Intimate • Tragic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, Spare is that story at last. From his battles with loneliness and anger; to his struggles at school; to his time in the army; to meeting Meghan, their fairy-tale wedding, and being hounded by the press; to finally choosing to step away from the spotlight lest history repeat itself, Harry bares everything in his memoir.

💭 T H O U G H T S

When I first heard that Harry was going to be sharing his story, I wasn't sure if I would read it. I cannot call myself a royal follower, but of all the members of the Royal Family, I have always had a soft spot for Harry. I can relate to being the second-born and his struggles to find himself or his place in the world. Nonetheless, I placed a hold at the library for the audio knowing the wait would be lengthy and when it finally came through I decided I needed to see what everything was about for myself.

Presented in a chronological manner that works best, Spare offers an unprecedented inside look into royal life. With unflinching honesty, Harry holds nothing back detailing his intense loneliness and struggles in the wake of his mother's death. My heart went out to his younger self as he describes how everything was handled and how he chose to believe his mother was simply off on vacation somewhere for many years.

I never realized the extent of the role the media plays and how it sensationalizes a lot. I don't know how anyone can handle having every single thing you do, scrutinized by millions of people. It will come as no surprise that Harry speaks openly about his mental health struggles, which I highly commend him for. The rigorous standards of the monarchy at times even made him feel like a failure, which is just heartbreaking.

The memoir is quite long and there were definitely parts where it lulls throughout the middle. As with everyone's story there are always parts that are more and less interesting. For me, my interest was mostly in his life in the wake of his mother's death, his time in the army, and his and Meghan's life. I'll admit I was a tad disappointed that his life with Meghan comprises only a small part at the end, but I completely understand his reasoning in doing so - privacy has become an very important aspect of their lives and I respect that. At the end of the day, I am glad that they found each other and have created a beautiful life together.

If you're on the fence about Spare, I'd make the suggestion of reading it for yourself so you can form your own opinions. There is no denying he was born into a life of privilege, yet that doesn't mean he isn't entitled to his own feelings, thoughts and desires. The way he and his family have been treated in the wake of stepping down speaks volumes to the outdated conditions of the monarchy. I'd also highly recommend the audio as there's certainly power in the fact he narrates it himself.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• royal family devotees
• celebrity memoir lovers

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"No one had an answer for a boy actually seeking external pain to match his internal."

"Grief is a thing best shared."

"I'd traveled the world from top to bottom, literally. I'd hopscotched the continents. I'd met hundreds of thousands of people, I'd crossed paths with a ludicrously large cross-section of the planet's seven billion residents. For thirty-two years I'd watched a conveyor-belt of faces pass by and only a handful ever made me look twice. This woman stopped the conveyer belt."

"In this mixed-up world, this pain-filled life, we’d done it. we’d managed to find each other."

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nikitanavalkar's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

3.0

Harry: (talking about the Kohinoor Diamond) Stolen, some would say

Me: …facepalm. Definitely stolen Harold. Everyone would say.

That’s Harry in a nutshell. Well meaning, nice guy prince, but ultimately out of touch with reality. Yes, even with his brilliant service work and military experience and his all around compassion. I was extremely impressed with him and his growth after the docuseries, and still am to a certain extent, but not gonna lie, this book made me lose some of my respect for him. And it’s not due to any specific thing, just a culmination of a bunch of things. And I get it, at the end of the day he’s a prince and it’s hard for him to be relatable and I wasn’t expecting that anyway. But Harry, no one needs details of every single thing that ever happened to you, including that time you had todger (dodger? Idk) frostbite and that one time you peed your pants as an adult. Of course I’d also blame the editor for not cutting out a lot of fat from the book, but then who can say to a prince this is unnecessary tmi let’s delete it I suppose. As clear from the fact that the memoir is “by Prince Harry” and not Harry Windsor or Wales or whatever his last name is.

Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciated the candidness of the writing, the almost innocence of it. Even when too forthcoming and a bit whiny, it felt honest at all times. So much of it is sad, especially the parts with his mum and his complete denial about her passing and so many more instances of his life in a golden cage. From which he was unceremoniously thrown out and forced to fly too late, with a young family in tow at that. Tbh, Meghan is the best thing that happened to him IMO. People can diss her all they like, especially in the UK, but he’s the one that married up. She had everything going for her before his ridiculous life brought a wrecking ball into hers. Even in the book, he sounds more mature, more lucid from the point she came into his life. When he’s talking about her and their life together. And their love rings powerful and true. So the haters can just sit down.

And whatever else I think about the book, I will always support him, and them making money by any other honest means rather than just taking tax payers’ money for being an outdated, r*cist, colonizing institution. Unlike his family. No matter if that means airing out his dirty laundry. So more power to them.

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redheadorganist's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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orpiment's review

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3.0

Took me 4 months to read - the military parts are such a slog and so boring. Only good part was from when Meghan was mentioned (got through that last section in a few days compared to months of military boredom). My commute is only 9 mins on the train which also explains why it took me so long to finish i guess.

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