Rating: 5/5
Review:
Very good
I thought this was very good, in spite of the dreadful title. (It’s
a reference to other people’s “humorous” use of his name, but
even so…).
Louis Theroux is a
very intelligent, amusing, thoughtful and humane man. His TV work
speaks for itself and, like many others, I have enjoyed it and
learned a great deal from it. There is a good deal of interesting
insight here into how Louis got into making documentaries, the
process of making them and some of the consequences of the programmes
for him and for others. What really shines through here, though, is
his insights into people, including himself. He gives thoughtful,
nuanced portraits of those he has met and of his own behaviour. He
is honest and very self-critical at times, but also recognises the
complexity of people and of human behaviour, including his own.
The spectre of Jimmy
Savile looms large in the book, as it must. Louis became
sort-of-friends with Savile after making a documentary about him and
I found his thoughts about the whole affair fascinating and very
well-balanced. For example, he describes his own complex responses
to the revelations: “I felt alternately defensive, annoyed
apologetic and self-critical. I was irked by the piety and
self-righteousness of those critics who suggested I should have seen
more. And I wished I had seen more.” And this, of the aftermath:
“[Savile’s] purpose was now to make everyone else in society feel
OK that they aren’t him. He had become a thought-stopping device,
and a way for creepy men to make themselves look better...” I
found all that very insightful, and this was true of a great deal in
the book.
I found Gotta Get
Theroux this a readable, stimulating and enjoyable book.
Recommended.
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