A life backwards, published in 2005, masters set out to explore the life of a wholly unknown man he had met begging on a street in cambridge. The book exposes freely and clinically how rubbish society is at dealing with or even coping with unconventional people such as stuart. Trouble is, i also had a book to read for french over the summer, and the details of all three keep getting all mixed up in my head. The book was also shortlisted in the biography category for the whitbread book oftheyear award, the samuel johnson prize, and the national book critics circle award in the united states. Stuart was homeless, with many of the problems this subsection of english society display.
Original post by 418am im doing my coursework in year 2 of my langlit alevel on comparing stuart. An international bestseller and winner of the whitbread biography award, bad blood is a tragicomic memoir of one womans. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. A life backwards pdf feedback end users have not nevertheless remaining his or her writeup on the sport, or otherwise not read it nevertheless. And a lot has gone wrong with stuart s life, from gluesniffing, to drug addiction and alcoholism, from minor crime to car theft, robbery, violence and possible charges of attempted murder. A first book, written in reverse, by a fastidioussounding, failed phd.
Told backwards stuart s idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happy pdfgolucky little boy of twelve. Click download or read online button to get stuart a life backw ards book now. Alexander masters masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. Stuart is an alcoholic, drug addicted, violenceloving, chaotic homeless. I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that i hardly know where to begin. S tuart shorter spent his late teens and adult life alternating between the streets and prison with occasional, mostly short lived, forays into accommodation. In the preface, we are told that stuart shorter stepped in front of a moving train at the age of 33, shortly before this biography was completed, so he never saw the final version. Nov 23, 2006 the cameras are rolling as filming begins on a production of alexander masters acclaimed cambridgebased novel, stuart. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The main characters of this non fiction, biography story are. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a. The acting in this film is lead almost exclusively by tom hardy and benedict cumberbatch. With a keen writers eye, a gift for narrative and a friendship that lasted only four years, masters recounts the life of stuart clive shorter whose untimely death in 2002 inspired this work. A life backwards by alexander masters and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Alongside this alexander looks backwards over stuart s adult life and childhood to try and discover what went wrong with his life. A life backwards, by alexander masters, a portrait of a. He exemplifies the so called chaotic homeless people, who are on the streets because, curiously, it is the only place where they can manage. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a. A life backwards isbn 0007200374, the biography of stuart shorter. Thrust together when the managers of a shelter are imprisoned for drug dealing, alexander and stuart find camaraderie across social barriers. In a life backwards, stuart gradually takes the author alexander masters and the reader back in time and shows how his life experiences as a child and young adult shaped him into becoming the person that alexander sees which is an unstable adult who eventually looses his life. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading stuart. A life backwards, it may prevent the health service from contributing to further marginalisation of the already marginalised. Unexpectedly, the book ends up being a lot about alexander and his feels and. A life backwards was an attempt by alexander masters to reveal in murdermystery style what turned his friend who didnt live to see it published. A life backwards, by alexander masters the new york. He led, as he said, a very controversial, unpleasant life.
A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart. A life backwards, the new book by alexander masters, deserves every accolade that can be awarded. I have lost weight, gained some back, and am now losing again. Through the pale tesco stripes of his supermarket bag i can see the.
A life backwards is a writers quest to give voice to a man who, beneath his forbidding exterior, has a message for us all. Visit now to browse our huge range of products at great prices. He was as much baffled by society as society was by him. A whodunit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart. A life backwards by alexander masters in djvu, epub, fb2 download e book. Stuarts story is not the worst i have come across nor can it alone represent all the individual narratives of rough sleepers on our streets. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. A life backwards, by alexander masters, a portrait of a homeless man. Some of the very best of tom hardy in his role as stuart shorter in the 2007 true life drama based on the best selling book by alexander masters, stuart. A life backwards by alexander masters librarything. A life backwards is that it leaves you feeling thoroughly ashamed of your own cynicism and thoroughly infuriated buttingly so by that of other. Buy stuart a life backwards by alexander masters online from the works. Shocking, inspiring, and hilarious by turns, stuart. A life backwards kindle edition by masters, alexander.
Although he loses his way a bit with stuart s early life, this is a fine debut. Well, i guess i should start at the beginning which, of course, is actually the end of stuart s story. Stuart a life backwards by alexander masters true stories. A writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. In this remarkable book, a masterful act of biographical restoration, alexander masters retraces stuart s troubled journey. A life backwards is a film about human diversity and the things we all share.
Blood trickles down through every generation, seeps into every marriage. A life backwards is a remarkable account of a free fall into the. They just werent made for each other unlike masters and biography. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of cambridge. It was a british tv movie based on a popular but not widely known book. A writer cumberbatch takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart hardy, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. A life backwards tom hardy benedict cumberbatch nicola duffett 2007 a writer benedict cumberbatch documents the life of a homeless alcoholic tom hardy who has a violent past. Benedict cumberbatch as alexander masters, tom hardy as stuart shorter. Sep 30, 2011 stuart shows up at alexanders house with a blinding idea for the campaign to free two charity managers impisoned because some of the clients had been secretly dealing drugs in the homeless shelter. This makes the book more difficult to follow than it could have been but does serve to reinforce the way stuart feels about his life. A life backwards does not have much going for it to make it popular.
Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. A life backwards is a rare, droll, moving film that grows to understand the maddening complexity of life and subsequent near hopelessness in trying to find the factors behind someones life. Yet the stuart depicted in this book was also a man with a fierce sense of justice and. This brilliant biography, winner of the guardian first book award, presents a humbling portrait of homeless life, and is as extraordinary and unexpected as the man it describes. With benedict cumberbatch, tom hardy, nicola duffett, clairelouise cordwell. A life backwards was a 2007 bbc film based on the award winning biography, penned by alexander masters, of stuart clive shorter a homeless man living on the streets of cambridge in the year 2000. Im using faith, family, friends, and humor to navigate my journey to a healthy lifestyle.
The concept of writing the life story backwards is a great idea actually coming from stuart but it does result in the timeline of his life becoming very chaotic as time jumps forwards and backwards. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait. As the title of both book and film suggests, the book took the unusual approach of detailing stuarts life from his adult life down through to his childhood. As their friendship blossoms, he peels back the layers of a troubled past and discovers just as much about his own along the way.
Jan 02, 2006 stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. A life backwards is a fascinating and heartbreaking biography of an english man who lived a life of crime and drug addiction, was often homeless, and suffered from physical problems. However, the story has more than enough heart to overcome any production limitations on this film. Along the way he met stuart, a homeless, drugaddicted excon. Stuart was homeless, with many of the problems this subsection of english society. A life backwards is that it leaves you feeling thoroughly ashamed of your own cynicism and thoroughly infuriated buttingly so. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart clive shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. Sep 12, 20 12 years a slave 50 shades of the piemaker agatha christie alan carr amanda abbington amazing grace andrew scott applelock arena a study in sherlock atonement audiobook bbc benedict cumberbatch benny on the show bluray bts cabin pressure chattyman chealsea flower show chris pine conan obrien copenhagen creation david harewood david letterman. This is my little corner of the internet where i share my journey to health and wellness. A life backwards by alexander masters harpercollins.
Thanks to stuart shorter we get a glimpse into his life experiences, struggles, and thoughts as a mentally unstable, homeless. He exemplifies the so called chaotic homeless people, who are on the streets because, curiously, it is. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Stuart a life backwards download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. Yet the stuart depicted in this book was also a man with a fierce sense of justice and honor a frank, funny. Stuart shorters brief life was one of turmoil and chaos. However, if every medical professional read stuart. A life backwards by jack thorne is a smart account of an unlikely friendship between a charity worker and a homeless man. Stuart advises him to tell the story backwards, so that its more exciting like a tom clancy murder mystery. He was studying for an msc degree in mathematics with the open university, and working as an assistant at a hostel for the homeless in cambridge, when he wrote his first book.
Alexander masters won an arts council writers award for stuart and went on to win the guardian first book award and the hawthornden prize. The first edition of the novel was published in 2005, and was written by alexander masters. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a. But, at the same time, according to stuart s weird sense of etiquette on such subjects, only one son in a family is allowed to kill himself, else it puts too much strain on the parents, and his brother, gavvy, like jacob in the old testament, has stolen stuart s birthright. A life backwards 1st harper perennial edition by alexander masters isbn. A backwards life revealed in stuart alexander masters spent five years working in hostels for the homeless. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.