Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Spare by Prince Harry

21 reviews

jewelleryjen's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

3.25

I don't have much of an interest in the Royal family and I would never have picked up this book if it hadn't been for a review on YouTube by Leena Norms. I saw headlines about Megan and Harry leaving the family and was interested in their side of it. 
This book was very interesting, it smacks of privilege (having a bad time?!- fly to Botswana and escape) but of course it does, the guy was a Prince and doesn't know anything else. There are parts where I can see he's trying to say he's normal, but it made me cringe as it seemed very inauthentic (I shop in TK maxx and dry my laundry on the radiators round my flat). If you can give him the benefit of the doubt on those things this book is hugely telling. It's mostly about death, the press and his search for belonging. The entire family are utterly dysfunctional and he doesn't shy away from talking about it. They are expected to do what they're told, or what is tradition, and never show emotions, not even to each other. 
This is an enjoyable book to read, the chapters are short and easy.
I missed out on some of it as I didn't know who he was talking about when referencing cousins etc and there were stories from papers that I'd never read or heard of, but it didn't stop me enjoying it.


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siankrb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

An honest, funny and moving account of Prince Harry’s life and the challenges that come with being the spare. I thought the book particularly picked up in the third section, talking about Meghan and recent events. Took me a while to get through but I ended up being very moved. Appreciated having an insight into a life completely different from my own. 

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kiwichill's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

3.0


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beaubaggins's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0


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dmswack3's review

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I usually avoid memoirs and biographies due to their voyeuristic feel, but something about 2023 has made me want to listen to a few, and Spare was undoubtedly one of them. 

I highly enjoyed the narration Prince Harry gave, and the story itself was fun to listen to. His ghost writers was phenomenal in my opinion. I'm very glad I listened to it instead of reading it, however, because I think I would have found myself bored by some of the longer chapters had it not been read to me. 

Something else for readers to be weary of besides long chapters and perhaps boring text, should you choose to read this rather than listen- this story bares all... Like ALL. You will hear a LOT about the Prince's... Todger, as he calls it. Like a LOT. Where it's been, who's seen it, how it's been injured so uh. Fair warning there. 

Beyond the todger, this book really doesn't pull punches. I saw shocked at points, angered at others, cried at some. But I also felt myself thinking: is it all true? God I hope not. It's that bad. 

Give it a listen. 

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tdhuck's review

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25


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gwendle_vs_literature's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

In the grand scheme of all books I would only give this about a 3.5* rating; I’m not generally the biggest fan of non-fiction, but I decided decided that I want to read at least one non-fiction book every year.  I give this 4* as far as biographies go, because it doesn’t feel fair to compare it to “Piranessi” “Pride and Prejudice” or “The Canterbury Tales”.

I was aware in general how badly the press had treated Megan and Harry (I’d witnessed some of it, and also watched the Netflix documentary) but this book goes back further in time, beginning with Diana’s death and ending (in the epilogue) a few days after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

I struggled through the section on his military service — it was interesting, but I have a hard time viewing the military in any kind of positive light. I also felt that Harry had blinders on when he talked about how the wealth of the monarchy (and other vastly rich families) was acquired “when the system was unjust and wealth was generated by exploiting workers and thuggery, annexation and enslaved people” . . . as though the system is now just and workers are no longer exploited; as though keeping land and wealth and possessions obtained in that way could ever be moral.  But I suppose we all (or most of us) make excuses for our families. Maybe his position on that will evolve in time — it seemed to be rooted mainly in loyalty to his Granny. 

The revelation that he has no memory of ever hugging or being hugged by his father or grandmother, and that he and William have only ever hugged a few times was so sad — not just for Harry, but for all of them. 

The text is mostly well-written and well edited, with only a few examples of Harry using the wrong word — in one case the opposite word (he said “nonplussed” when he meant “un-phased”, which is a common mistake, but which any editor worth their salt should have caught).  

I can definitely recommend reading this book if you enjoy non-fiction, or are trying to challenge yourself by reading more of it. 

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kbairbooks's review

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challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I did not grow up knowing anything about the Royals, and for many years of my teenage and young adult life did not understand the appeal of learning and speaking about these people. I remember times in my life seeing headlines and wondering, how could they possibly be true and how could they possibly talk about other human beings like that no matter what their status is. Over the past couple of years, more or less since Megan‘s entrance into the Royal family, I became more interested and learned more about the royal family and their dynamic and so forth. The amount of empathy and sorrow I feel for Harry and Meghan, and also the pride and joy of their strength of character, their strength of heart, and their love for each other is just beautiful to witness. And overall I appreciate the vulnerability and honesty of writing a book such as this which is so open and vulnerable. It takes a courageous person to be vulnerable and speak their truth regardless of others’ perceptions.

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sydneynorman's review

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dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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tiakoko's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25


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