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2November2019 THE WEEKARTS
“In 1988 ,EltonJohnrealisedhis
impulsetoshophadspiralledwildly
outofcontrol,”saidVictoriaSegalin
TheSundayTimes.Thesingerpeered
intothesquashcourtofhispalatial
Windsorhomeandsawthe“teetering
spoilsoftwodecadesofuntrammelled
spending”.Hishaul,herecalls,
included“everysinglereleasedinBritainbetween1 95 8and
1975”;agreatmanyTiffanylampsandartdecovases;“apair
ofbrassbathtapswithlargePerspextesticlesattached”;adoll-
shapedradio;andtwosporrans.John’s“gloriouslyentertaining”
memoir,writtenwiththeGuardianmusicjournalistAlexis
Petridis,containsa“similarembarrassmentofriches”.Insome
ways,it’satraditionalrockmemoir, tracingafamiliarnarrative
arc:suburbanchildhoodfollowedby“earlystruggle”asa
musician,suddenfame,yearsofraucouspartyingand“drugs
hell”. Latercomestints inrehabandtherapy, and, finally,a
settledlifeas anelderstatesmanof pop.Butit’salso“bigger”
and“shinier”than most such works,containingawealthof
“well-polished” and “hilariously over-the-top”anecdotes.JohnwasbornReginaldDwight
inthe“dismalsuburb”ofPinner,
Middlesex,in 1947 ,saidJanetMaslin
inTheNewYorkTimes.Heclaimshis
childhoodwas“conspicuouslyboring”,
butitwasalsomarredby“world-class
parentalcruelty”.Hismotherpotty-
trainedhimbybeatinghimwithawire
brush;hisfatherbondedwithhimonly
overfootball.Musicwasanescape,and
Johnisn’tmodestabouthistalent,said
WillHodgkinsoninTheTimes:he
recallshow,agedfive,hecould“hear
atuneandplayitonthepianostraight
after”.Butinotherrespects,he’s“quick
toadmithisfailings”–especiallywhen
itcomestosex.“Heclaimstohave
beentheonlyBritishmusicianofthe 1 960stohaveworkedon
theReeperbahninHamburgandcomebackavirgin.”
FamepresentedJohnwithcountlessopportunitiesforseduction,
buthewas,hesays,neverthatinto“f***ing”,beingmoreof“an
observer,avoyeur”.Thispredilection,saidHadleyFreemanin
TheGuardian,frequentlyclashedwithhis“innatetidiness”:when
youngmenhadsexonhissnookertable,he’danxiouslyaskthem
notto messupthe baize.Inthis“outrageouslyenjoyable” book,
John’switheringappraisals ofother celebrities(KeithRichards is
an“arthritic monkey”)are matched onlybyhis“lacerating”self-
criticism.While hehas“never come acrossasanespeciallywarm
celebrity”,his “clear-eyedhonesty and earfor the comicline
makehimadeeplyapp ealingmemoirist”.Me
by Elton John
Macmillan 384pp £25
The Week Bookshop£20.99 (incl. p&p)Review of reviews: BooksBookoftheweek“Mostofusknow BillBrysonasthefunniest travel
writerofhisgeneration,” saidJamesMcConnachie
in TheSundayTimes.But the “genialAmerican”
–who haslivedinBritainsincetheearly1970s–
isalsoadabhandatpopularscience.InAShort
History ofNearlyEverything(2003),heelucidated
the wondersofthe universe;in hislatest, equally
“fact-rammed”book, thehumanbodyreceives
asimilartreatment.Welearn thateverybreath
contains“25sextillion molecules ofoxygen”, and that eachdayyou probably
inhaleatl east one molecule from thebreaths of everypersonwho has everlived.
We learn,too, that scientists don’tknow whywehavechins, andthat it would
cost £96,546.79 to assemble all 59elem ents in thebody in sufficientquantities
to build an adult male.The Bodyis by no means perfect:Bryson’s interestscan
feel “elderly”and“male ”(dige stionand obesityreceivefar moreattentionthan
periodsand sex), andnorishe“as fu nnyasI ’d hoped”. Still, there’smuch to
inform and entertain, and if this book sellsaswell as Bryson’s usually do,“that
willbenobad th ing ”.
“Wry, companionable” and“always lucid”, Br ysonrevels in the sheer oddness
of thebody, said Gavin FrancisinThe Guardian.Did youknow that laidout
“end to end”,ourDNA wouldstretch“beyondthe orbitofPluto”? Or that a
studyof60bellybuttonsfound2,368species of bacteria, 1,458 “unknown to
science”?Towards the end,anote of anger enters, asBryson notes thefactthat
even though during the 20th century,“lifeexpectancy improved as much again
as in the previous 8,000 years”,ins omedevel opedcountr iesthe rates have
recently begun to fall again.Ulti mately, Bryson’s bookhas asimpleprescription
forlife: “eat alittlebit less, movealittle bitmore”.The Body
by Bill Bryson
Doubleday 464pp £25
The Week Bookshop£20.99 (incl. p&p)Novel of the weekThe Secret Commonwealth
by Philip Pullman
Penguin 704pp £20
The Week Bookshop£15.99“Two yearsago, PhilipPullman met the
challenge of returning to the world ofHis Dark
Materialsby g oing back in time,” said John
MullaninThe Guardian.La BelleSauvage,
thefirstvolume inTheBook of Dust,asecond
trilogy focusing on thelifeofLyraBelacqua,
was aprequelabout her near-escapefrom death
as ababy. Now, inTheSecretCommonwealth,
he jumpsforward20 years–adecadeonfrom
whereHisDarkMaterialsconcluded–to“give
us th estory of Lyraasayoung adult”.
This is a“darkerand much biggerbeast ”than
its predecessor, said CatherineTaylor in theFT.
Its “multiple”plotlinesincludescene sofmurder
and attempted rape;Lyra swears “a lot”.But
Pullman’sstory telling remains“engros sing”in
whatis athrillingaddition to theseries. It’s also
abookwith more“political signification”than
theothers ,saidAlexPreston inTheObserv er:
both therefug ee crisisandthe state of
democracyare “repeatedlyreferenced”.By
int roducing such “real-world concerns”into his
“well-lovedfiction universe”,Pullmangive sit
“added urgency”. Thisis his“best novel so far”.
©SAM EMERSON (COURTESY OF ROCKET ENTERTAINMENT)
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