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A review by ms4321
Spare by Prince Harry
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Racism, War, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship