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pingwoh's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Grief, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
4.0
From a purely academic perspective, this memoir is ground breaking and history making for breaking the code of silence around what really goes on behind the closed doors of the royal palaces.
From an entertainment perspective, it has everything you could hope for in a celebrity memoir: packed with scandalous anecdotes about a world the ordinary reader will never experience, which helps to humanise a figure that we rarely see other than through the telephoto lens of a tabloid, or glossy official media coverage.
Is it extremely one-sided? Yes. Are the parts about Harry's wartime experiences in Afghanistan a little bit boring and morally icky? Yes. Is his stated support of the monarchy pretty flimsy considering that the recollections he includes in this book of his King and the Heir to the throne paints them as insecure, conniving, snivelly little overgrown rich boys? Yes. Did I struggle to put it down? Yes, I was riveted.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
emilycheslock's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Addiction, Blood, and Abandonment
jewelleryjen's review against another edition
3.25
This book was very interesting, it smacks of privilege (having a bad time?!- fly to Botswana and escape) but of course it does, the guy was a Prince and doesn't know anything else. There are parts where I can see he's trying to say he's normal, but it made me cringe as it seemed very inauthentic (I shop in TK maxx and dry my laundry on the radiators round my flat). If you can give him the benefit of the doubt on those things this book is hugely telling. It's mostly about death, the press and his search for belonging. The entire family are utterly dysfunctional and he doesn't shy away from talking about it. They are expected to do what they're told, or what is tradition, and never show emotions, not even to each other.
This is an enjoyable book to read, the chapters are short and easy.
I missed out on some of it as I didn't know who he was talking about when referencing cousins etc and there were stories from papers that I'd never read or heard of, but it didn't stop me enjoying it.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War
cleotheo's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Pandemic/Epidemic
siankrb's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
dev921's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bgirl_jazz's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Colonisation, and Classism
marieshan4321's review against another edition
3.0
The memoir itself was fairly well written. Although, it did get a little wishy-washy for my taste at times. Personally, I didn't find the military escapades or drug induced self-destruction very interesting. I'm not pro-war or pro-military and I'm not interested in Harry's recreational drug use. This was something that made up a good chunk of the centre of the book and kind of slowed everything down for me.
His descriptions of Africa as some sort of mystical exotic getaway were a bit strange, especially coming from someone whose direct ancestors colonialised Africa as well as half of the planet.
I thought the whole situation with Harry, William and Charles seemed a bit petty and ridiculou on all sides. It just kind of made me wonder if these three grown-ass men have anything better to be doing than dragging each other in the media.
Maybe some fodder for the British republican perhaps next time they decide to call into question the role of the monarchy.
On the whole, this was a quick enough read if you listen to it as an audiobook and it gives an insight into Harry, his experiences and the lives of the modern royal family.
Admittedly, there was a few stories (something about Elizabeth Arden handcream and a certain frost-bitten appendage) that I'd rather wipe from my mind forever, but otherwise 'Spare' does, more or less, exactly what it says on the tin.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship