Last Sunday, Prince Charming and I finished a talking book version of 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People' by Toby Young. I've seen the movie (can't remember a thing about it) and heard the rumours (allegedly, Young was annoying people so much, he got banned from the film set), so I was a bit quick on the draw when I started the book and thought I already knew what I was getting.
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| 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People' by Toby Young (Film tie in, published by Abacus 2008) |
In the end, this book was a bit of a surprise. After everything I'd heard, I'd expected the tale of an arrogant, low rent, gossip column hack marauding around New York like a bucking bronco, deliberately stepping on toes and upsetting egos to get a good story. Although the results were sometimes the same, Mr Young came across as something very different, a flawed character who wants to do well, but somehow manages to mess it up. It felt a bit like he'd gone into a Wild West saloon for a quiet drink and somehow ended up in a gunfight at high noon.
Although he comes across as undeniably arrogant, the character portrayed in the book is also hopelessly naive, desperate to be loved and respected and a hopeless romantic. He's well educated and self-aware, but somehow this all deserts him the moment he's face-to-face with anyone famous. As such, he almost seems to lurch from calamity to calamity until he is inevitably fired from Vanity Fair.
To find out whether the book ends with self-realisation and redemption, you'll have to read it yourself! I would recommend it, though, because it's a fascinating read, particularly if you're interested in journalism and the magazine publishing industry. I'm certainly intending to read it properly at some point. I really ought to get through some more of my other books first though!
