Amazon.co.uk Review
In
Chance Witness: An Outsider's Life in Politics, Matthew Parris gives us a brilliantly diverting autobiography combined with a comprehensive and merciless picture of the politicians he has dealt with, both in his own time as an MP and subsequently as writer for some of our most august newspapers.
He is not only the most astute of political commentators, he is one of the most completely entertaining. Matthew Parris made little impression in his career as a Tory candidate (for which, as a sardonically witty and iconoclastic gay man, he was perhaps not best suited), but in his subsequent career as one of the shrewdest observers of the political scene, he has few equals.
The book's jacket gives some idea of the unbuttoned tone here: while John Mortimer "thank(s) God for Matthew Parris", Alan Clark is quoted as describing him as an "absolute sh**". And it's Parris' fearlessness (combined with that scalpel-honed wit) that makes this hefty volume the kind of book that (despite its length) will be consumed avidly. Parris was close to the centre of power (Margaret Thatcher no less) but always remained an outsider. Of course, his spell in Mrs Thatcher's office is by far the most entertaining part of the book, his dealings with the Iron Lady being no less than catastrophic. But while delivering devastating pen-portraits of that lady, he is equally exuberant in his pictures of such luminaries as Peter Mandelson (whom he famously "outed"), Tony Blair and Michael Portillo. This is eccentric, highly personal writing, but the combination of mordant humour and fierce intelligence is absolutely irresistible. After reading it, the reader may wonder how Parris lasted for five minutes as part of Margaret Thatcher's humourless government. --Barry Forshaw
Review
Matthew Parris is perhaps most famous for the parliamentary sketches he wrote for The Times every day from 1988 to 2001. Lively, perceptive and extremely funny, they brought the dry world of the House of Commons alive for hundreds of thousands of readers, and some of his images have permanently entered the public consciousness. Parris is a highly talented journalist, and, as this excellent autobiography demonstrates, he has led an interesting life - from childhood in Rhodesia, where his father worked as an engineer, through jobs in the Foreign Office and the Conservative Research Department to time as an MP and television presenter. But the real appeal of this book is not Parris's life itself as much as his character, and his powers of description. He has an unflinching insight both for himself and for those around him, and the result is an account sometimes painful in its honesty, and always fascinating. Recalling his childhood in Southern Africa, he describes precisely the social nuances of black and white, rich and poor, and recalls his own prejudices matter-of-factly. Rather than skimming over his youth, he tries to recover exactly what he felt and what he did, even at its most shameful and embarrassing. The same is the case for his later years: his humiliation as a speaker at the Cambridge Union, his mediocre record as an MP, his cruising for sex on Clapham Common, all are brought vividly to life. His analysis of others is as vivid as his analysis of himself. Rather than getting dragged down by the minutiae of manifestoes and party infighting, he concentrates on the characters he knew in politics, bringing the talents and foibles of each to life with unsparing perceptiveness but never malice. John Major, Alan Clark, Chris Patten - all the Tory grandees are here, but most of all Mrs Thatcher, whom Parris remembers with a rueful combination of admiration and distaste. He may just have been a chance witness to the events he describes, but he is about the best witness there could be. Clever, thoughtful and relentlessly honest, this autobiography is a worthy testimony to a truly admirable man. (Kirkus UK)
by Matthew Parris
by Matthew Parris
