Stuart: A Life Backwards (WBN copy)
1 journaler for this copy...
A 2011 World Book Night copy, no details in the book, so I am registering it here.
Review from when I read another copy.
This is the last of the 25 World Book Night 2011 books I had to read. A workmate picked up a WBN copy of it in Cambridge and gave it to me, the last book I needed to pick up and set in the Cambridge area. What a stroke of luck!
Masters met the titular Stuart begging in Cambridge, a moment which changed his life. As suggested by the subtitle, Stuart's story is told in reverse. In this way, we see how Stuart ends up on the streets, a combination of many factors. Through his interaction with Stuart, Masters brings us the inside story of the people we pass every day, showing us how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole, and how hard it is to get back out. Stuart opens up to Masters, letting us in to the darker details of life, and the incidents that caused him to become homeless in the first place.
What makes the book so readable, though, is the relationship between Stuart and his biographer, making both more 3-dimensional. The result is a book that is readable, thought-provoking and so very sad.
Review from when I read another copy.
This is the last of the 25 World Book Night 2011 books I had to read. A workmate picked up a WBN copy of it in Cambridge and gave it to me, the last book I needed to pick up and set in the Cambridge area. What a stroke of luck!
Masters met the titular Stuart begging in Cambridge, a moment which changed his life. As suggested by the subtitle, Stuart's story is told in reverse. In this way, we see how Stuart ends up on the streets, a combination of many factors. Through his interaction with Stuart, Masters brings us the inside story of the people we pass every day, showing us how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole, and how hard it is to get back out. Stuart opens up to Masters, letting us in to the darker details of life, and the incidents that caused him to become homeless in the first place.
What makes the book so readable, though, is the relationship between Stuart and his biographer, making both more 3-dimensional. The result is a book that is readable, thought-provoking and so very sad.
