Books we like ... and books we're not too fussed about
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Hermione Eyre and William Donaldson
Weidenfeld and Nicolson 2005
A year or so ago I read Terence Blacker’s biography of Willie Donaldson (You Cannot Live As I Have Lived And Not End Up Like This) and realised that I’d never read anything by Donaldson himself. So I put a lot of his books – some autobiographical, others satirical – on my Amazon wish list. This was one of the few which wasn’t out of print. It’s a shame more of his stuff isn’t available, but I can understand why it isn’t. Donaldson set out to skewer the pretensions and fripperies of the age, and as much of that these days revolves around that most ephemeral of qualities, celebrity, it’s hardly surprising his writing doesn’t last. That said, this dictionary, full of vicious put-downs and biting satire, is pretty timeless too, as although some of the names might have changed, the vacuity, sentimentality, and occasional cruelty of our society hasn’t. This book is very funny and, like the best satire, also bracingly indignant. It’s well worth a look. Just before he died Donaldson told a younger friend (possibly his co-author Hermione Eyre, only 25 when this book was published) that she was so lucky she would live longer than him and thus find out what happens to Charlotte Church. It’s certainly a pity he’s not around now to turn his eye to all the latest celebrity developments: I’m sure he’d have a lot to say.
31st March 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Donaldson
See also: From Winchester To This
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