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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I've always liked his poetry but knew very little about John Cooper Clarke before reading this book. His trademark turn of phrase is well used throughout this book and helps to elevate passages that might be dull in another author's hands. I enjoyed the sections about his youth, growing up poor in Manchester in the 1950s and 60s but found the bits about his later success and time addicted to heroin a bit dull and repetitive. Overall this was an interesting life story of a national treasure and is worth reading if you have an interest in Cooper Clarke as a person as well as a poet.
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I skipped a lot of the book. It was interesting but overly detailed. His story is written in an entertaining way. His addictions and relationships bared fully. He's a bit irritating tbh. Would have been better for me if he'd written more about the poetry.
Salford poet John Cooper Clarke has certainly led a fascinating life and documents it in - a lot of - detail in this memoir. Especially detailed are the account of his early years in a display that threatens to derail his story.
That early section is a fascinating look at popular culture of the 40s, 50s and 60s in some ways. But in other ways, it feels like a different book from what follows... A portrait of the artist as a young, and then middle aged, drug addict (the sections of the book I found most interesting).
Curiously, everything after his rehab and recovery seems rushed or at least in a lot less detail. Which feels odd, too, because it seems it's these years that he's never been happier. Perhaps there's not much to say about happiness!
So for me, a disjointed and unsatisfactory read. But there's a lot here that diehard fans will enjoy and this memoir is another display of Cooper Clarke's outstanding command of the English language.
That early section is a fascinating look at popular culture of the 40s, 50s and 60s in some ways. But in other ways, it feels like a different book from what follows... A portrait of the artist as a young, and then middle aged, drug addict (the sections of the book I found most interesting).
Curiously, everything after his rehab and recovery seems rushed or at least in a lot less detail. Which feels odd, too, because it seems it's these years that he's never been happier. Perhaps there's not much to say about happiness!
So for me, a disjointed and unsatisfactory read. But there's a lot here that diehard fans will enjoy and this memoir is another display of Cooper Clarke's outstanding command of the English language.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I'm annoyed at myself for finishing this book so quickly but I couldn't bloody help it ! It was too good. I listened to it as an audiobook, and Clarke is so engaging and skilled at storytelling that this book could've been twice as long and it still wouldve felt like no time at all.