Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Spare by Prince Harry

23 reviews

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

3.25


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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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sareidle's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25


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ms4321's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

While this didn't completely warm me to Harry himself, you can't but have sympathy for him and Meghan by the end of it. His difficulty to come to terms with his mother's death and the racism Meghan experienced from the British tabloids was horrible.

The memoir itself was fairly well written. Although, it did get a little wishy-washy for my taste at times.  (Yes, Harry very much seems to be his father's son in that respect). The philosophical talking fox, moon and dust bin was a bit much for me. 

Personally, I didn't find the military escapades or drug induced self-destruction very interesting. I'm not pro-war or pro-military and I'm not interested in Harry's recreational drug use. This was something that made up a good chunk of the centre of the book and kind of slowed everything down for me.

His descriptions of Africa were a bit strange and problematic (very heart of darkness), especially considering they were coming from the perspective of someone whose direct ancestors colonialised half the planet. 

I thought the whole situation with Harry, William and Charles seemed a bit petty (but unsurprisingly so) on all sides. It just kind of made me wonder if these three grown men have anything better to be doing than dragging each other in the media.  

On the whole, this was a quick enough read if you listen to it as an audiobook and it gives an insight into Harry, his experiences and the lives of the current royal family. Although there was a few off the wall stories I'd rather wipe from my mind forever, 'Spare' does,  more or less, exactly what it says on the tin. 

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hannahcstocks's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.75


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issyd23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

You know his life is fucked when he’d enter a war zone to escape the paps. Vive la république! 3🎳

NB This was actually quite boring as I’ve read 3 Royal bios & knew everything already. The Palace Papers is 100x better! Kate Middleton’s chapter is tantalising. However, this did make me want to go to Botswana. 

Other thoughts:
  • I cannot believe I now know that Prince Harry is circumcised 
  • Find it hilarious that according to Haz Charles is in his ‘Camilla era’ - Taylor take note! ✍️
  • On a serious note his hatred of the media (especially Murdoch) is palpable - I wonder if he’ll pursue them in court
  • On a personal note I don’t love that Harry is convinced we (US + allies) were the ‘good guys’ in Afghanistan - and his refusal to think critically about the wider implications and complexities of the war/occupation. 

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theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

5.0

I am the same age as Prince Harry and always felt a affinity for him. Admittedly, I don’t know much about the royal family, but Harry’s memoir discusses the absurdity of everything the press have ever said about the royal family. This book was also Harry’s chance to tell his side of the story about how his family has treated him and Megan. 

This is a very heavy book and I cried many times listening to his recount of very painful topics: his mother’s death, 9/11, self medicating with drugs and alcohol, going to war, racism against his wife and children, threats against their lives, the loss of an unborn child, the toxicity of his family, the death of the Queen, and the paparazzi who refuse(d) to let them live their lives. 

This was a highly enjoyable and deeply moving memoir, even for an anti-monarchist living in the colonized commonwealth. 

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lisasilv's review

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

An interesting look into Royal life, although I am sure the truth lies somewhere between what this book says, and with what actually happened. I like that the chapters were short, and that it moved quickly. I listened to the audio book version, and you could hear the emotion from the prince as he read it.

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aloy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

3.5


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crownoflaurel's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75


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