1923: A Memoir: Lies and Testaments [Paperback]

1923: A Memoir is written by 88 year-old Harry Leslie Smith and is the first volume of an autobiographical account, from around the time he was born in 1923 until his youth at the end of the second world war.

It is a beautifully written and moving story of a child growing up during a time of post war poverty and depression in northern England. Harry's memories are extremely vivid and provide an emotive view of how his family fell apart through circumstances, lies and deceit.

Written in the style of a novel, it's easy to forget that this is true life, as the words and memories flow in detail along the pages. It's interesting and at times sad to read how hard life was for poor Harry to begin with, and how it impacted the poignant relationship with his father. There's no sympathy for his mother, Lilian, until you understand the problems she herself deals with, and then you realise there are two sides to every story.

But this is Harry's story and not only does he provide a graphical account of living in times of desperation and dire poverty, he also describes what it's like maturing into a young man and the impact on normal life of political events happening across the globe - as England enters world war two.

Harry's way with words is splendid:

Of his parents brief marriage ceremony, Harry says: "It lasted only slightly longer than the sex that had led them to the marriage altar."

Describing a trip to the store to purchase pullet eggs, the cheapest eggs available because they were small and transported from Poland packed in crates, Harry says: "The shattered and smashed eggs congealed in the straw. They emitted a foul damp smell like farts trapped in a sofa."

As a young man, trying to improve himself and his chances in life by joining a finishing school, Harry says: "The other students viewed me as someone who had mistakenly entered the room and forgotten to bring the tea trolley and biscuits."

And there are gems like those all over the book, which are a delight to come across.

1923: A Memoir is a true story well worth telling and a true story well worth reading - not only because at the very least it will make you appreciate how good we have things today, but also because it is very well written and flows from page to page. I'm looking forward to the second volume to find out what happened to Harry after he met the love of his life. This is due out in October 2011 titled: A Place For The Heart To Kip.

I downloaded this book because I like history and because I've run into the author on the Amazon forums on occasion and he's a lovely chap.

Despite the very British nature of this story it is published by an American publisher. This means it has a few strange american quirks which jump out at you - more on that later. Otherwise, the standard of presentation is good. I spotted a couple of typos but nothing that would annoy me.

First I should say that I am really impressed by the writing. It's lyrical and the voice of the character/writer is strong. I like that someone is attempting to write about the past the way it actually was; with rose tinted specs kept firmly in the box. It's an eye opener and it's a window on a world that was, harsh, unfair and which is thankfully gone, for the most part - at least in this country. It makes good points, too, that education is a privilege for starters; something that's worth remembering in an era of degrees for all when I can imagine it's easy for kids to see it as more of a chore. The book is about a very hard life but the author never goes for competition hardship, so to speak.

So, if you are thinking of reading this book, then yes, I would recommend it. There is no doubt it's good. However I would be lying if I said I was enjoying it. My relationship is definitely love/hate and I'm not sure if I will be able to finish it. It's interesting, compelling and as I've said, the standard of the writing is excellent and I find myself sympathising more with the central character as it progresses and it was worth perservering.

However, the Americanisms grate. Normally they don't but normally I'm reading American books by American authors. I found it strange to find someone, in a British autobiography, speaking in the vernacular of another country about mine. So for example at one point he told his sister he was 'pissed' in the sense that he was annoyed rather than drunk. I'm 43 and I've yet to hear that done by one of my fellow countrymen. It also feels strange when a Yorkshireman talking about his 'pants' turns out to be referring to his actual trousers rather than the things underneath. Other odd stuff; his mother went into labor and of course she was his Mom and not his Mum. All of that felt totally weird. In the book's credit that is an indication of how well the writer puts the Britishness and Yorkshireness of his personality across. I just wish there was a UK spelled UK version because while I don't usually notice the US/UK gap it does seem to matter here. Finally, there was a description of Epping Forest and Chigwell as being in Sussex. I'm from Sussex and I promise you, they're not there. They're in Essex.

The narrator is very harsh in some places especially about his Mum. although I completely understood his attitude although I found I could sympathise with her, too, even if I could not like her very much. I did share the author's sense of social injustice at the position his family ended up in and the hardships they had to go through.

The book is very amusing in parts and all of the opinions expressed are honest and forthright. Forthright is great but it is a two edged sword. I liked it mostly but there were a couple of sweeping generalisations about the south which had me scratching my head a bit. Then again, I suppose, for the last several hundred years, when people have made money, they've moved nearer to London and the City and yes, I appreciate that in Sussex, at least, while we've been blessed with some we've been lumbered with a good many others.

So all in all recommended but it loses a couple of stars for the bits where the Americanisms grate and because, for me, it didn't quite connect. I would definitely have a look at more books by this author though.

The author captures the despair and frustration of poverty in an extremely moving way. I found the first chapter a little heavy going, but thank goodness I persevered as from then on I was captivated by the honesty of how the author saw his desperate little life. The descriptive language was a joy and so many times summed up the situation perfectly and helped me feel what Harry must have felt, one of my favourite lines being when a very young Harry and his sister found their drunken mother lying on the doorstep and dragged her indoors, "We were like fishermen on a trawler pulling in an enormous haul of near-dead fish.".

The chapters covering Harry's life in the RAF were spot-on too. Most men did not want to die for their country or for any other reason and the futility of the war with its mindless murder and destruction is very apparent.

I'm sure my review could never do this book justice, it was a fine read and I would certainly want to read the next volume of this biography (if there is one) or indeed any other work from this writer. Highly recommended.