I don't even know how to begin reviewing Stuart: A life Backwards. Well, I guess I should start at the beginning - which, of course, is actually the end of Stuart's story. Don't worry, it's not as confusing as it sounds. The book opens with Stuart Shorter, an "ex-homeless, ex-junkie psychopath", telling the author of his biography, Alexander Masters, that it's "bollocks boring". Alexander, having worked on the manuscript in question for years, is understandably frustrated, and questions Stuart's expertise (or lack thereof) on the matter. Stuart's response? "Make it more like a murder mystery. What murdered the boy I was? See? Write it backwards."Thankfully, Alexander took Stuart's advice and rewrote the book, and so begins a journey back through time to discover not just the cause of the death of Stuart's innocence, but of Stuart himself - he died of probable suicide before the second version of the manuscript was complete. I know, it sounds completely dreary and depressing - and it completely is at times - but more often than that it's totally entertaining and even inspiring. Which sounds a bit morbid in the same paragraph as suicide, but I guess it shows just how strange - and brilliant - this book is. A bit like Stuart himself.In theory, Stuart shouldn't work as a hero. He's vulgar, violent and a little bit (OK, a lot) mad, spending much of the story either homeless or in prison. But he's also charming, wise and strangely moral in his own way. It's this paradoxical nature that makes him so fascinating and, ultimately, likable. In Alexander's capable hands, Stuart's character jumps from the page, his voice captured perfectly so that you feel as though he's right in front of you.One of the reasons Alexander seems to have been able to capture Stuart so well is because he appears to have developed a strong and genuine friendship with his subject. Some might question how appropriate this is for a biographer, but it works. In fact, one of the loveliest aspects of the book is the unlikely friendship between the middle class, sheltered writer and the irrepressible vagabond. That's not to say it's an easy relationship. Alexander is frequently uncomfortable in Stuart's company, and even more frequently irritated. But through his honest and amusing account of his reactions and thoughts, Alexander makes Stuart accessible and real. These humourous encounters also act as much-needed breaks from the flashbacks to Stuart's earlier life, which gets darker and more disturbing the further back we go.You can probably guess what happens, although perhaps not all of it(view spoiler)[It includes brutal sexual abuse by both Stuart's brother and his babysitter, for starters. (hide spoiler)]
Having spent most of my life working in the human services field, this book really gave me a lot to think about. Then again, it would have done that no matter what. For years I tried so hard not to let myself become jaded or cynical about the clients I worked with, realizing that the behavior I witnessed and the personal details I knew about probably only scratched the surfaces of the sum total of their lives' experiences (full admission: ultimately, I failed). This book delves deep beneath surface perceptions and exposes a lot of ugliness. Reading "Stuart," I was simultaneously deeply touched, disgusted, horrified, glad I read it, and sorry I'd pulled my head out of the sand.For anyone who thinks we're "all equal," especially in America (yes, I realize this book was written by a Brit about a Brit), hopefully this book will make you think again. Some of us are born into circumstances that will always prevent a level playing field. We may all share the same planet, but we don't all live in the same world.However, the fact that Stuart was still able to display any type of humor, intelligence or sensitivity despite what his fellow human beings had done to him, does give me some hope.
What do You think about Stuart: A Life Backwards (2006)?
"Write it like a murder mystery...What killed the boy I was?" That's what Stuart Shorter asked, and that's what Alexander Masters did. Psychopath, activist, junkie, Stuart's life is at turns harrowing and darkly comic. Masters does not romanticize Stuart's personality or actions. Over the course of the years they spent working on Shorter's life story, Masters often reaches a point of exasperation with his friend, but each time this happens, he is confronted by the fallibility of his own assumptions about how the System should work, as opposed to how it does. While his reexamination of his class privilege is an important part of the book, he does not fall into the trap of making it the point of the book. It's Stuart's story, not the story of how a homeless man changed a bougie's outlook. Masters's reconstruction of Stuart's life is painful, visceral reading. I was glad that I had a loved one close by--I needed to stop more than once for a hug break.
—Suzanne
Stuart, the focus of Alexander Masters' book, is as enigmatic and polarizing as real people tend to get. There is a reason that Masters introduces us to Stuart now, rather than beginning at the childhood that spawned this creature.Stuart is akin to a horrific train wreck that you can not tear your eyes away from; he is scary and depressing, repulsive and untantalizing, yet somehow silumtaneously mesmerizing and endearing. You wouldn't want to share an elevator or a dark alley with this character, but you might somehow find yourself compelled to do so anyway. Not only to hear the outlandish tales of the chaos that Stuart has both wrought and endured, but for the occasionally glimpses of the wise and witty soul buried beneath layers of abuse, neglect, and self-loathing.Masters takes the reader backwards through Stuart's life, exposing events as the occurred, then revealing events that laid the groundwork prior to them. Like an archeologist peeling back layer after layer of cultural sediment and fossilized civilizations, Masters removes the grimy layers of Stuart one anecdote at a time. By the time you reach the core of such a being, the young child faced with emotionally crippling systematic abuse, you can feel pity for the man's origins, but you still might not be able to bring yourself to forgive him for what that child has begun. That's probably how Stuart would like it.Forwards or backwards, Stuart's life is an engrossing story worth reading. But reading it backwards, believe it or not, tends to make more sense.
—S. Wilson
I understand your concerns, I have come across work that I do think is exploitative, yet I don't believe this is. I work in a related field, so feel well qualified to comment. Have you read the book, it's not clear from your comment. If you have read it,the author sets out the background to the work. There was a TV version of the book in the UK, I guess the BBC didn't regard the story as exploitative.
—Ramorx
