Autobiographies by their very nature can be a bit self indulgent, like the book we are reviewing on the life of Steven Tyler. Others choose to use their experiences to illuminate – and make the path of others, easier…
Little Princes by Conor Grennan is a remarkable book and it appears to me that it is also a testament to the very best, and the very worst in humanity.
It is the autobiographical story of a young man who decides to go on a year-long trek around the world. He decides to start in Nepal and to help out at an orphanage, Little Princes. He is there for 2 short months before leaving to continue his trip. But Nepal and the children at the orphanage stay with him, and returns a year later as he promised the children. This starts an amazing journey as he stays with the children for 3 years, and starts the incredible task of returning many of the children, who have been stolen and trafficked, back to their families. Many of them still have families, who do not realise they have been sold into slavery, and then rescued. Many have looked for them for years, not knowing what has happened to them.
The book is written with a real ease, and simplicity – and more than a bit of humour. It isn’t sensationalist, and he is happy to recount his mistakes along the way, as both he, and the children ‘grow up’ in their own way. There are photographs of the children he works with, and it does feel all so very personal. To see what abject poverty they live it, how value-less they are – certainly makes you take a long, hard look at what charmed lives we lead. To make you feel slightly better, at the end of the book we find that some of the profits from buying the book go directly to the Little Princes Orphanage in Nepal. That is a fitting end to a lovely (though sometimes harrowing) book. Little Princes by Connor Grennan is published by Harper Collins $36.99.
Autobiographies by their very nature can be a bit self indulgent, like the book we are reviewing on the life of Steven Tyler. Others choose to use their experiences to illuminate – and make the path of others, easier. Be Different – Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian by John Elder Robison is just such a book. Having read his previous book Look Me in the Eye (a quip at the difficulty many with Autism have at staring you straight in the face) about his own struggles with his Aspergers/Autism, I can attest to his wonderful open writing style.
He has led a colourful life, from running away from home before he was 18, to designing the pyrotechnic displays known to shoot from the guitars of Rock Gods, KISS, his vintage car business, to his eventual marriage and diagnosis with Aspergers when his own son was diagnosed. This second book, while also autobiographical, is mostly a book full of “practical advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers.” And what great advice it is! Some of it doesn’t translate particularly well to our NZ schools – but on the whole it is a wonderful thing to get a bird’s eye view of an Aspergian (his terminology for Aspergers Syndrome – and to my mind a much nicer turn of phrase) mind. With Aspergers a very personal subject for me, and one I know quite a lot about (various family members closely related to me), I am sorry this book wasn’t available earlier. It is a book that can easily be read by parents, family members, and professionals.
I can see it being particularly good for parents of a newly diagnosed child, as it is so very hopeful and positive. It can easily be read by a teen Aspergian, and could definitely make the transition of understanding what makes them tick, and how they fit in the world, so much easier. Five stars. On a personal note – the author is the older brother of Augustin Burroughs who wrote the harrowing tale of his childhood in Running With Scissors. Writing well must run in the family. Be Different – Adventures of a Free Range Aspergian by John Elder Robison is published by Random House and is available now.
Steven Tyler’s “Does the noise in my head bother you?” starts with the following quote – Life is short. Break all the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that makes you smile. It kind of says it all really.
This is most definitely a rock n roll memoir – but one that we have definitely all heard before. It goes into LOTS of explicit detail about the drug and sex exploits of the 60 something year old Tyler. And even manages to shock a little in the process. The book is written in a sort of ‘stream of consciousness’ style, with it sounding like he literally is just talking at you. Some of it is interesting; the rock n roll history of the many bands that were around at the time. There is a lot about the massive, fiery break up of the legendary partnership of Tyler and his guitarist Joe Perry, but he seems to spend most of the book justifying his point of view and making sure we are very clear that it was all Joe’s fault (the break up).
In fact it appears to be everyone else’s fault. His wives (three of them and a huge amount of other women) don’t stay because he sleeps around – and this isn’t his fault (he is a rock god and it is just part of the territory). At one point he tries to say that it is ‘his job’ to sleep around. Whatever. His children are a bit of a mess but that isn’t really his fault either. The last 10 quiet work years are covered reasonably briefly in the book – in fact they are given just a chapter – the same amount of space that he gives to justifying his sexual behaviour! Drug taking gets a couple of chapters of its own – and just one for rehab. What a hell of a lot of living he has packed in but he really just is a rock n roll dinosaur who is very good at looking after himself. If the American rock scene is of interest to you, then the historical stuff from the 60s and 70s is actually really interesting. The rest – well – it’s all just a bit boring… Does The Noise In My Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler is published by Harper Collins. It retails for $39.99.
Annie Proulx’s Bird Cloud – A Memoir is an interesting literary animal. Proulx is well known for her incredible attention to detail in her writing, and this book is certainly no exception. This book is the dragged out tale of the completion of her house built on 640 acres of Wyoming wetlands and prairie. The story starts in 2003, with a full two chapters before it dedicated to her own genealogy starting from 1660. She starts by trying to understand why she chose Bird Cloud as the space to build her final home (Proloux is in her 70s now). She fell in love with it immediately as it had scores of birds, elk and antelope on the first day she visited. It took her nearly a year to sort out the purchase, and then started to deal with architects, builders, plumbers, electricians and any number of other specialist craftsmen.
Her incredible attention to detail in the written word becomes apparent as she remembers every conversation, altercation, discussion, and argument she ever has with the array of people who work with her to try and make her dream a reality. The book is also peppered with stories of side trips she takes with the people who first work for her, then with her until they become fast friends. She takes several of them on trips to see various special doctors around the US to deal with their various health issues. She writes with a strange detachment, but still manages to dig at the various disasters that befall her (the concrete man for instance), but speaks with genuine affection for the ‘James Gang’ – the brothers who work for her on and off until 2007 when she finally moves in to find that the area is so inhospitable that she can only ever live there for 6 months of the year. Bird Cloud – A Memoir by Annie Proulx is published by Harper Collins. It is $34.99 and available now.
OK – so we have had self indulgent, factual, and selfless autobiographies, now we just have a plain funny one.
On Life, Death and Breakfast by Tony Parsons is a selection of eloquent essays on life and the meaning of HIS universe. Fabulous chapters on Junk Sex, You Only Marry Twice, Performance Anxiety, and my personal favourite Tough Guys Get Facials prove that an aging music journalist can have some scathing but hilarious observations on life. The author of Man and Boy, he has prolifically written for Arena, GQ, and writes weekly for the Daily Mirror in the UK. Whip sharp anecdotes on marriage, sex, children and aging have something for everyone south of 25 (and way past that). Read it and cackle. On Life, Death and Breakfast – Tony Parsons published by Harper Collins, it is $39.99 and is available now.
By Anya Brighouse
September 2011
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