the pacifist's guide to self-flagellation
"In this unforgettable memoir of childhood, comedian and novelist John Larkin will have you laughing at every step of his journey from the cold, damp mining towns of northern England to the sun-drenched streets of western Sydney.Reading the reviews by other people and the blurb at the back of the book, I get the feeling there's rather a lot of "regular attacks by a sister who kills teddy bears, Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, classroom dumpers, pacifist lollipop men, cocks and cocks in waiting, school milk, cobblers, kids who eat paste, deranged science teachers and parents who try to feed him to the sharks"... but I'm not complaining :)
The word favourite generally means "preferred to all others", but on reading "the pacifist's" blah blah, I'm convinced you can have more than one favourite, and still call each a "favourite"... if you've read my review of 'Deja Vu', you'll see what I'm getting at.
"The Pacifist's" yaddi yadda is also one of those books that look SO EASY to write, and then you sit down and try to write something like it, and you find out just how bloody hard it really is.
Oh, and if you're standing in a bookshop wondering whether to buy the silly book, read page 225 and all of chapter 10, 'The curse of the Headless Ted.' Brilliant!
reviews by other people
An anonyomous (?) Dymocks Bookshop reviewer said:
Following on from John Larkin's account of his family's Irish roots in "Larkin About in Ireland", this is the story of his family's move to Australia in the 1960s as "ten- pound migrants". From the cold and damp mining town in northern England where he was born, to the sun-drenched streets of western Sydney, this is a comic memoir of his childhood. Laughter helped people survive the potential for anger and violence in grim mining towns like Maltby, and while Larkin's story is set against a background of poverty and disappointment, there is always a sense of people's determination to keep going and keep laughing. The author survives being attacked regularly by his knife- wielding, teddy-bear-decapitating older sister. And along the way, he takes time out to offer an insight into classroom dumpers, Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, pacifistic lollipop men, cocks and cocks in waiting, school milk, cobblers, kids who eat paste, deranged science teachers, and parents who tried to feed him to the sharks.
Another anonymous (?) Dymocks Bookshop Reviewer said:
"This memoir of childhood will transport you back to all your most awkward growing- up moments. Larkin describes his own transformation from puzzled boy to gawky teenager, with a mixture of youthful observation and the wisdom of hindsight. From the mining town of Maltby to the suburbs of Sydney as one of the original £10 British immigrants, Larkin regales us with tales of terror, joy and severe embarrassment ..."
Someone else from gleebooks.com said:
"John Larkin tells the story of his family's move to Australia in the 1960s as 'ten-pound migrants'. It moves from the cold and damp mining town in northern England where he was born, to the sun-drenched streets of western Sydney. Set against a background of poverty and disappointment, it is infused with the people's determination to keep going and keep laughing. The author survives being attacked regularly by his knife-wielding, teddy-bear-decapitating older sister. And along the way, he takes time out to offer a unique insight into classroom dumpers, Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, pacifistic lollipop men, cocks and cocks in waiting, school milk, cobblers, kids who eat paste, deranged science teachers, and parents who tried to feed him to the sharks."