Prince Harry: Spare

My coworkers were all reading this, and I have to say that I'm fascinated by the royal family, so I gave into temptation and listened to this on Audible. Listening to the audio book was totally the way to go, since Prince Harry reads it himself.

Spare by Prince Harry is a heartbreaking memoir outlining Harry's treatment by the British tabloids. He outlines his experiences with the tabloids from the time his mother died until his departure from the royal family. This fascinating memoir gives an inside look into the workings of the royal family, and their relationships with the press. The memoir certainly makes it look as if all is not well in the house of Windsor, and attempts to set the record straight (from Harry's perspective) of what happened among the family members.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I loved the way Harry writes (and because I listened to it, the way he reads). I found his descriptions of events and places beautiful, and wish I could use it in AP! His prose is really quite pretty in many places, and I enjoyed his descriptions of Balmoral and especially of the night Diana died. He tells his story in heartbreaking detail.

I didn't love how often he used the f-word. It felt that he was throwing it in for emphasis, and that bothered me quite a bit.

I don't have many great criticisms of the book in general, but I did think it was fascinating that Harry outlines all of the abuse by the press (which is substantial), but then almost completely leaves out his Oprah interview. I don't like the royal family's tendency to air the family's dirty laundry so publicly, but at the same time, I guess if it's the only way you'll be heard...

Overall, I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PG-13 - language and drug use

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