kiri_johnston's review
2.0
Ugh I don’t know, it’s just painful having to read about a self obsessed, far-right rich man moaning about how ‘poor’ and old he is when people in his time were actually suffering… some funny gossipy moments and it’s amusing to read about famous Eighties politicians popping up like side characters in a play, but otherwise this is a bit of a teeth-gritter. Really makes you think - if even being this wealthy and powerful, doing little but going to endless dinner parties and coming up with quips, can make you this unhappy … then what’s the point??
The best bits are the unexpected ones, like the time when he hits on a young woman and takes her for tea, believing she’s really into him when she probably just fancied a trip around the HoC, and it ruins his week when she understandably declines a second date. That and the constant Thatcher simping, assuming everything she does is ‘coquettish’ (lol). You can start to understand how she kept ahold of power so long with these guys around…
The best bits are the unexpected ones, like the time when he hits on a young woman and takes her for tea, believing she’s really into him when she probably just fancied a trip around the HoC, and it ruins his week when she understandably declines a second date. That and the constant Thatcher simping, assuming everything she does is ‘coquettish’ (lol). You can start to understand how she kept ahold of power so long with these guys around…
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
5.0
Alan Clark was a fairy right-wing Conservative who was clever, and could have achieved a great deal in politics had he not liked life in general, and the ladies in particular, so much. The result was that while he did manage to become a junior minister,he didn't rise as high up the party as he could have done (which probably didn't bother him if I'm honest).
This collection of his diary entries shows us what happened in the Conservative Party (and his private life) during the 1980s when the Conservatives were in office. It's a good fun read, and probably set the standard for "political diaries" that have come since.
This collection of his diary entries shows us what happened in the Conservative Party (and his private life) during the 1980s when the Conservatives were in office. It's a good fun read, and probably set the standard for "political diaries" that have come since.
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