Saturday 5 February 2011

John Mortimer

I'm reading a biography of John Mortimer called The Devil's Advocate. I would love to say that I'm enjoying it, but the author, Graham Lord, is to my mind, unnecessarily cruel about his subject. He picks up on a weakness and goes on and on about it, pick, pick, pick… The start of the book tells of Mortimer’s childhood and adolescence and the author makes far too much of Mortimer’s aversion to hygiene. Come on, for goodness sake, many teenage boys are strangers to bathing, it’s quite within the scope of normality. Yet Lord goes on about it, desperate to find fault at any cost.

I can’t argue that the book is well researched, or at least appears to be, but page after page of spiteful remarks are spoiling the story for me. I’ve gotten to the point in the book where Mortimer has married his first wife, Penelope, and Lord makes much of the flaws in their marriage, which is fine, but not page after page, after page of it.

Determination will ensure that I’ll read it to the end, but I find that the book makes me feel sad. Sad for the author, who has ruined what could have been an excellent story, and sad for the late John Mortimer and his family. I do like a bit of kiss and tell (who doesn’t), but this book is cruel. We don’t need the author to point out repeatedly that Mortimer wasn’t the most handsome of men, nor that he was useless at DIY.

I suppose I’d just expected a life story, and this alone would have been immensely entertaining, there’s so much to tell, but the constant jibes are spoiling it for me. I guess my feelings aren’t unique; the book’s full price is £20, but I picked it up for just £1.

On an equally depressing note, it’s pupillage application time again. I’ve done 2 so far this year and have a further 3 to tackle next week. And then I have the delights of OLPAS to look forward to (again!). I intend to make a concerted effort this year to grab a pupillage, but as soon as I start filling in those forms, my enthusiasm diminishes. I just don’t sparkle on paper.

That’s all for now.

8 comments:

Minx said...

I didn't much care for Lord's take on Mortimer, either, TBH; it is a well written and well researched tome but I hate any sort of attempt to undermine the subject with the usual "great men have feet of clay " nonsense, particularly since his own spin leans toward mere bile.

I muc preferred Valerie Grove's " A Voyage Round John Mortimer". This is his official autobiography and though it might be a bit sycohpantic at times- as such things necessarily are on occiasion- its still worth the read, if only for comparitive purposes when set against Lord's own missive.

I do hope your apps this year are going well, dear friend. I wish you nothing but many interviews of the first, but particularly of the second round variety; may the snitch be fluttering upon the palm of your hand, waiting for you to hug it with your fingertips.

Barmaid said...

Minxy - I wasn't really expecting the trivial nit-picking found in Lord's book. Not sure what I was expecting, certainly not gushy drivel, but it's written without any sort of passion, or compassion, or respect and I feel a bit tarnished when reading it.

Argh, the sodding pupillage applications. My will to live diminishes... Neh mind, onwards and upwards:-)

Dhymalk dhykTa said...

hi...good morning...

i haven't heard before about John Mortimer...
i am just open in wikipedia about him..
would u like to tell more about his achievement..

Thank u very much...

By Indonesian's Blogger

Dhymalk DhykTa

Minx said...

My Dear Maid,

Where ARE you?!!? I'ts been a whole month and I am now getting officially very worried!! Is everything OK with you, bar man and bar-os?-

Barmaid said...

Minxy - I'm alive and kicking:-) I suppose I thought that my blog was becoming a bit self indulgent, what with BVC being a far off memory and not having much else regarding law/bar to talk about. Not sure that fellow bloggers want to know about the mundane hum-drum of my post BVC freedom, but I will do a post forthwith, if not sooner.

Hope you are well and aren't letting the buggers grind you down:-)

Tulsa Divorce Lawyers said...

It sounds like Graham might need to lay off some.

Tulsa Divorce Lawyer said...

noI've heard of The Devil's Advocate. BM you make it sound so awful...

Oklahoma City Divorce Attorneys said...

That sounds like a real bummer.