Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65610 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-19
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Synopsis
This is a collection of film-world reminiscences and trenchant thoughts on Cool Britannia, New Labour and other abominations. In between writing "Flashman" novels, George MacDonald Fraser spent 30 years as an "incurably star struck" screenwriter, working with the likes of Steve McQueen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cubby Broccoli, Burt Lancaster, Federico Fellini and Oliver Reed. Here, he shares his recollections of those encounters, providing a glimpse behind the scenes. Far from starry-eyed where Tony Blair and Co are concerned, he looks back also to the Britain of his youth and castigates those responsible for its decline to "a Third World country, misruled by a typical Third World government, corrupt, incompetent and undemocratic".

Customer Reviews

Victor Meldrew
It might be advisable not to read this book until you have securely entered middle age. On the other hand if, like me, you have found it difficult to articulate your rage at the squandering of our imperial and cultural heritage in the last few decades, then this will help. GMF has made the pill easier to swallow by interspersing the chapters of "grump" with those of undeniably readable autobiography. It is however the "grump" that makes this book. There are few writers who genuinely "chime" with their readership but GMF is undoubtedly one. More of the same please.

Wait for the Posthumous Biography
Probably like many others, I was drawn to read this autobiography having been extremely entertained by GMF's Flashman series. I wanted to find out more about the antics, experiences and meetings of the man that resurrected Tom Brown's leering bully and brought us the iconic Bond Movie "Octopussy". However, what rises off the page is dissapointing, frequently vitriolic, and, only occasionally, revelatory - albeit all crafted in GMF's stylish prose.

What gall's at first is certainly the lack of anecdote. It is pleasantly surprising to find that GMF was a driving force on films such as "Superman" and the slapstick romp that was "The Three Musketeers". However, much of this is diluted by the author's implicit (and more often explicit) insistance that he was the definitive expert on the celebrities he met (even when, in many cases, these were somewhat perfunctory meetings). These are the first warnings that all is not well with the author of Flashman. He seems more determined to shout expertise on subjects informed by shaky intution, rather than tell us of his own experiences - which, whilst certainly subjective (this is an "auto"biography after all), at least he has actually experienced, and therefore KNOWS. One also gains the impression of a superhuman, thickhided writer - whose failings are imperceptible (more likley down to the mistakes of others), for whom no task is too great, and with whom even the coldest celebrity can't help forming some bond. This of course gives us an insight into GMF's psyche (if this is indeed how he views himself), but becomes a bit of a party bore when masquerading as interesting life story.

Having failed to impress on the anecdotal section (normally the major substance of an autobiography), he then goes on to write a good half the book which I fear will taint GMF's lasting memory, much as Kipling's late-life imperialist fervour for the First World War marred his public standing - and much as I have affection for GMF's fictional work, it is always going to be outclassed by the writer of "Kim", and much easier fall onto history's compost heap. Again, here, my main criticism is not that the author says anything wrong; there are certainly sentiments that I could agree with. However, it is not presented as sentiment. In between the dliuted life-history segments are what can only be described as a plague of angry "News of the World" letters, passages written in a rhetorical style that George Dubbyah could be proud of. "You're either with me or against me!" the pages scream in countless diatribe against the modern world and its "liberal' tendencies. There are too many rants (or "Angry Old Man" sections, as GMF dubs them) to go into in one review. To sum them up though, they are resplendent with the kind of gutter press terms that someone of the author's obvious intelligence should know better than to use: "ordinary, decent citizen"; "everyone knows"; "The Public"; "Germany is the only country to produce Nazis"... Terms used by the kind of despots GMF felt he was fighting in the 40's to whip up public momentum and hatred. In writing these sections, the author shows an incredible lack of finesse - and certainly a sure sign that he shouldn't ever stray from fiction or return to journalism.

A thought for anyone considering buying this book - wait for GMF's biography to be written and buy that (preferably when it is posthumously written, so a great author gone senile can't interfere). As it stands this is a huge dissapointment from a talented man, who, just maybe, has grown too old.

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P.S. Should George ever read this review and think, "ah, you liberal twerp!" I would have to respond "think again, you misguided old codger". For the record, I believe that political correctness is as idiotic as affirmative action, that banning foxhunting was as pointless and self-aggrandising as the pursuit itself, that the political system is as rotten as it could have been had Lloyd George lived in an age of mass media coverage. I also believe: that more learned people than you, George, have provided balanced debates on the death penalty; that Britain has flourished before on a single European currency; that the British Empire was unbolted and swaying in the wind by the end of the First World War. And I believe that some of that may even be based on fact. To simply garble, misquote and misunderstand statistics - such as "since abolition the murder rate has rocketed" - shows yourself for a fool, which I doubt you are. You may be right in some of your statements, but you don't know and clearly don't understand the evidence they're based on, yet you present it as unassailable fact, which only those infernal "liberals" could hope to deny. Are a greater percentage of the population murdered now than before? If so, is this because society is more murderous, or because police records are more accurate, or because more murders are identified as such? Well, if you'd gone into that much detail it would have been a very boring autobiography, but at least it would have held its ground as a well written political philosophy. As it stands it is a little of the former and none of the latter.

LONG MAY THE LIGHT SHINE !!
George MacDonald Fraser is invariably an entertaining writer:. his Flashman books have afforded me great pleasure as have his other historical novels: "Mr American" and "Black Ajax" and his wartime reminiscences.
This particular book is something of a departure in that weaves together two distinct aspects of his life: a description of his life as a film scriptwriter and his reflections upon modern mores and attitudes within "Cool Brittania'.

Fraser writes intrigingly of his work among the great and famous in the film world and he drops distinguished names with delicious abandon. It is all very readable and good fun.

But, predictably ,it is the other theme of his book which has drawn fire from the critics. Personally,I believe myself to be a kindly Social Democrat yet I am by no means unsympathetic to many of the arguments he proffers. As an Australian I can certainly affirm that his comments upon the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Sydney was right on target! On the other hand he draws several long-bows which take some swallowing (please forgive the mixed metaphor) : the new-found English liking for garlic is symptomatic of national decline? Come on George!

Still, it is written by GMF so ,regardless if you agree with his opinions or not, it is all very readable, thought-provoking and above-all entertaining.

Long may his light continue to shine !