Scan barcode
unisonlibrarian's review
5.0
Part memoir and part psychoanalysis of a whole class, Sad Little Men is written by Richard Beard who was at private school (referred to erroneously as public school in the UK) at the same time as two of the last three British Prime Ministers; David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Although at different institutions Beard suggests their experiences would have been the same or similar for the most part and explains much about the character of both men as well as the actions they took/take in office which, in his view, have not been good and of course I would tend to agree.
It is clear the author despised his own time at boarding school and finds comparisons in the institutionalisation he experienced with descriptions of tyrannical states inHannah Arednt’s Origins of Totalitarianism, indeed he describes the British boarding school as the perfect breeding ground for what Umberto Eco calls Ur-Fascism – and we see with the obsession with the British flag, the national anthem, the military and Brexit that the current mob of MPs are particularly susceptible. The pathology of the unhappiness is being ripped from and ultimately rejected by one’s own parents, to be thrust into grand but austere buildings to live an early life of strict instruction, beatings, bullying, sexual abuse (either suffered or witnessed) and emotional torture
Alongside the privations and the lack of familial warmth was a veritable order to mask any feelings of sadness or vulnerability. This is the formulation of the famous British stiff-upper-lip which is code for an emotionally retarded automaton; unworthy of love and incapable of loving by the time they become a man. Any sign of genuine feeling would be pounced upon, if not by teachers, wardens and masters then by fellow students – the nature of the places being to pick off the weakest members of the group until they either break down or become strong enough to no longer be the weakest and can in-turn join in the joyous brutality.
What kind of adults do institutions such as this produce? Ultimately, through a combination of money, influence and contacts they produce the “brightest and best” who fill the ranks of the judiciary, banks, legal firms and political parties. People who are quite literally taught that they are born to lead and yet they are people who lack the personal ability to lead in any way that is not despotic. Through their studies of Classics and Latin public schoolboys tend to revere men such as Emperor Augustus; never mind that he crushed democracy – he is strong and remembered, which are the only important things. Private schools are cruel and in their turn produce cruel men; the kind of cruel men who pay poverty wages, who implement bedroom taxes, who reject the concept of seeking asylum and who believe equality is woke pinko nonsense. We know they are still doing this too – only a few years ago an exam paper from Eton College was leaked which contained a question asking students to put themselves in the shoes of the Prime Minister and write down how they would justify the army opening fire on protesters.
It is an excellent look at the other side for people like me and explains a lot about the way our “leaders” see things, and see us. There are some interesting bits on debate nights around election times when private schools would hold fake hustings – they could never rustle up Labour candidates but they often had a novelty Socialist Workers candidate who would draw the short straw and be the figure of fun for the evening including being egged whenever they spoke – this in full view of, and with the blessing of teachers; as was the plethora of candidates for more “fringe” parties such as the National Front or the British Union of Fascists for which would-be leaders were always plentiful.
My only criticism is some of the “woe is me” elements in the book are rather self-indulgent, or at least lack a certain self-awareness. While I appreciate what the author went through, at no point does he seem to acknowledge his privilege but also fails to see that the things he was going through were also happening at state schools up and down the land – beatings, sexual assault, despotic teachers are all things that my own class can relate to. We weren’t dumped into a boarding school by our families but some of us had families we didn’t want to return home to after a day at school, however bad that day was – and while the food may have been bad at his school some of us lacked nutrition throughout our entire childhoods and beyond. Admittedly the author can’t know about what life was like in state schools and that’s not what the book is about but a little reflection on the subject would not have gone amiss.
It is clear the author despised his own time at boarding school and finds comparisons in the institutionalisation he experienced with descriptions of tyrannical states inHannah Arednt’s Origins of Totalitarianism, indeed he describes the British boarding school as the perfect breeding ground for what Umberto Eco calls Ur-Fascism – and we see with the obsession with the British flag, the national anthem, the military and Brexit that the current mob of MPs are particularly susceptible. The pathology of the unhappiness is being ripped from and ultimately rejected by one’s own parents, to be thrust into grand but austere buildings to live an early life of strict instruction, beatings, bullying, sexual abuse (either suffered or witnessed) and emotional torture
Alongside the privations and the lack of familial warmth was a veritable order to mask any feelings of sadness or vulnerability. This is the formulation of the famous British stiff-upper-lip which is code for an emotionally retarded automaton; unworthy of love and incapable of loving by the time they become a man. Any sign of genuine feeling would be pounced upon, if not by teachers, wardens and masters then by fellow students – the nature of the places being to pick off the weakest members of the group until they either break down or become strong enough to no longer be the weakest and can in-turn join in the joyous brutality.
What kind of adults do institutions such as this produce? Ultimately, through a combination of money, influence and contacts they produce the “brightest and best” who fill the ranks of the judiciary, banks, legal firms and political parties. People who are quite literally taught that they are born to lead and yet they are people who lack the personal ability to lead in any way that is not despotic. Through their studies of Classics and Latin public schoolboys tend to revere men such as Emperor Augustus; never mind that he crushed democracy – he is strong and remembered, which are the only important things. Private schools are cruel and in their turn produce cruel men; the kind of cruel men who pay poverty wages, who implement bedroom taxes, who reject the concept of seeking asylum and who believe equality is woke pinko nonsense. We know they are still doing this too – only a few years ago an exam paper from Eton College was leaked which contained a question asking students to put themselves in the shoes of the Prime Minister and write down how they would justify the army opening fire on protesters.
It is an excellent look at the other side for people like me and explains a lot about the way our “leaders” see things, and see us. There are some interesting bits on debate nights around election times when private schools would hold fake hustings – they could never rustle up Labour candidates but they often had a novelty Socialist Workers candidate who would draw the short straw and be the figure of fun for the evening including being egged whenever they spoke – this in full view of, and with the blessing of teachers; as was the plethora of candidates for more “fringe” parties such as the National Front or the British Union of Fascists for which would-be leaders were always plentiful.
My only criticism is some of the “woe is me” elements in the book are rather self-indulgent, or at least lack a certain self-awareness. While I appreciate what the author went through, at no point does he seem to acknowledge his privilege but also fails to see that the things he was going through were also happening at state schools up and down the land – beatings, sexual assault, despotic teachers are all things that my own class can relate to. We weren’t dumped into a boarding school by our families but some of us had families we didn’t want to return home to after a day at school, however bad that day was – and while the food may have been bad at his school some of us lacked nutrition throughout our entire childhoods and beyond. Admittedly the author can’t know about what life was like in state schools and that’s not what the book is about but a little reflection on the subject would not have gone amiss.
sakisreads's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
This was a book I saw in Waterstones that I knew I HAD to read! I was slightly disappointed; it felt like Beard was simply moaning a lot of the time. But it did have moments where I felt stunned because there were some shocking insights into boarding school, ones that I could appreciate having been to one myself! I liked his candour too, so maybe I’m being a bit harsh in my critique… But still 🫠
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Bullying, Death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Racism
abbyinbookland's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
wday17's review
3.0
it was interesting and shared some really o te resting ideas and experiences but at points it really dragged and sometimes i found it hard to grasp the structure of the overall point