Ricky Tomlinson, Ricky

I agree with the previous reviewer. I actually finished the book disliking the guy. Does not come across at all well.

i found myself rather annoyed by this book, which didn't endear me to pick it up in a hurry. The style of the book seemed to use scenes and relationships to teach us who Ricky Tomlinson is, rather than him describe how he felt in any depth. He covers his working class upbringing in liverpool, family background and early partner relationships with equal candour, which somehow depletes his love for them all. The idea of having a section about his dying mother at the start of each chapter was bizarre. It left a rather morose feeling with the reader. It wasn't that reading about ricky was boring, he's clearly a talented, smart and strong principled man, but i found his story was poorly told. The section on his trade union affiliation and the Shrewsbury two imprisonment was particularly interesting, if that's the right word for someone who was rubbished by the english judicial system. We can only imagine how difficult it must be to overcome such injustice. Overall it's not a great read, it wants rewriting and some more of the real ricky put across.