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Stuart: A Life Backwards
 
 
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Stuart: A Life Backwards (Paperback)

by Alexander Masters (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: HarperPerennial (1 Feb 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007200374
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007200375
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 6,178 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

From the reviews of Stuart: 'Unique and wonderful' Daily Mail 'This is a very rare and haunting book ! A great first book' Andrew O'Hagan 'Good books like this appear about once every five years. It's been years since I've been so delighted by a book and so surprised by it ! When I'd finished I felt bereft, as if I'd lost an old friend' Zadie Smith 'I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that I hardly know where to begin ! My enthusiasm feels almost limitless. A page-turner' Observer 'Funny and original, a startling book ! By the end I was doubled up in tears, but throughout I was often doubled up with laughter. It is dazzling' Vogue 'A remarkable biography. Unforgettably moving. A gripping read' Tim Lott, Sunday Times 'With his first book, Alexander Masters ! has achieved something remarkable. He has, without patronising, given a voice to the "underclass"; at the same time, without preaching, he shows us the value of even the most damaged of human lives ! a powerful book, humane, instructive and entirely original' Sunday Telegraph


Daily Mail

'Stuart Shorter bursts off every page of this extraordinary book'
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Customer Reviews

40 Reviews
5 star:
 (24)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
244 of 249 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly outstanding, original book, 15 Mar 2006
By A Customer
Tne story of Stuart Shorter is the story of a person nobody wants to know- the homeless 'nutter', the beggar, the addict, the offender. Nobody that is, except, for reasons that aren't at first clear even to him, Alexander Masters, a hostel worker who stumbles across Stuart begging in Cambridge. Their relationship is unique in literature, one is an illiterate yob and the other is an ex-boarding-school pupil and do-gooder. Somehow they immediately connect and as their touching relationship unfolds and Stuart's life is rewound, you realise that this nutter is a truly amazing human being. His biographer brings him to life so brilliantly it is impossible not to howl (mentally at least) with laughter at their adventures at the Home Office, Stuart's incisive insights, and then at the agony of the inevitable tragedies. Brilliant, buy it, be moved and then wonder how much potential is in all those homeless 'scum' asking for change from downtrodden commuters on their way to and from work.
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Important insight into an unknown and misunderstood world, 17 May 2006
By K. Edmonds (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If you pick up this book and read the many, many comments and rave reviews, you'll see that this book is a must read this year.

This is the story of Stuart, a chronic homeless man who from an early age has sniffed glue, done heroin, abused booze, been abused, been to prison... you name it and it probably has happened to him. It is almost as much a story about the author as it is about Stuart, detailing their relationship and the troubles Alexander Masters has putting Stuarts life down on paper.

And that is what makes this book worth a read - there are no clear answers, no solutions and no holds barred, just like in life itself. Stuart himself asked Alexander to write the book backwards, from his present life back to when he was a young boy and when he 'first discovered violence'. This could have been more effective if countless to-ing and fro-ing between the present and the past had been avioded but i think the author felt it important to convey the mixed up nature of Stuart's world.

If you want to open your mind and take in the account of one man who has had had a traumatic life and understandably has had difficulty coming to terms with what has happened to him, then this is your book. We see homeless people everyday but never stop to think about who they are and why they are there. We judge them instantly and avoid contact with them because they remind us of the dark side of society.

It's easier to think of homeless people as 'dangerous others' who desearve what they have got and could change their circumstances if they tried - Stuart will change this for you and put a real story and a real face to this group of unfortunate people.
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97 of 105 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb !, 27 Feb 2006
By Margaret L. Voss "Ven" (Wales U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
In my opinion this book is an absolute must read. It is a beautifully written, insightful, tragic and yet often humorous account of an dysfunctional life . The Authors reverse journey through the story of Stuart Shorter is one of the most compelling tales I have ever read. Within Twenty minutes of picking this book up I was hooked. At it's conclusion I cried. Brilliant !
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Would You Want To Read About This Man?
If you are considering buying this book then I would hazard a guess that you either already have some empathy with individuals such as Stuart or are at least curious. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. A. Frost

4.0 out of 5 stars If time could go backwards for Stuart...
... and if it were possible against the very impossibility of such an occurrence, I would have loved to change the epilogue of this book. Read more
Published 14 months ago by I LOVE BOOKS

5.0 out of 5 stars A Life Backwards
I purchased this book after watching its dramatisation on the television. Despite the subject matter, the programme had made me laugh out loud throughout and I became curious... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Maybaby

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as b*llocks boring as Stuart first thought!
Stuart himself wanted this book to be '...something what people will read..." something with more humour and not "...b*llocks boring. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Helen Simpson

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply outstanding.
Stuart the man was clearly intelligent and witty, and all his potential was torn away by the appalling circumstances of his life. Read more
Published 18 months ago by A. Chambers

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, just adequately written.
STUART: LIFE BACKWARDS
By Alexander Masters

I think that majority of the raving reviews here are more about the educational value of this book. Read more
Published 19 months ago by E. S. Borszczow

5.0 out of 5 stars A real eye opener
Alexander Masters did a superb job in his biography of the life of a homeless person. Although Stuart's story was deeply tragic and absolutely horrifying, Stuart's personality,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Book Tart

5.0 out of 5 stars Should Be Compulsary Reading
I can't praise this book enough. It was beautifully and cleverly written and engaged me totally. By the end of the book I felt like I knew Stuart. Read more
Published 23 months ago by C. Callow

3.0 out of 5 stars Can sometimes be a bit tedious
I was lucky enough to receive this book free with The Times and found it to be an okay read. The start and end of the book were good but it seemed to go astray in the middle and... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Bagpuss

5.0 out of 5 stars My 'book of the year'
This book is funny and engagingly written. I find it hard to finish a novel these days as I don't empathise with many of the characters. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2007 by Ceejay

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