Unleashed: Big Dog Boris Johnson fights back
New memoir is packed with 'derring-do, jolly japes' and 'alluring alliteration'
As a "chastened" Tory Party convened for its conference this week, and the wider country remained mired in the gloom that has enveloped it since Keir Starmer's "loveless victory", excerpts from Boris Johnson's soon-to-be-released memoir provided a "much-needed tonic", said the Daily Mail (which had acquired the serialisation rights).
In them, the former PM gives a vivid account of his leadership during the Covid crisis: he describes how close he came to "carking it" when he was hospitalised with the virus in April 2020; he describes his elation ("kerchingeroo") at the success of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine; he recalls how – when the EU impounded millions of doses in a Dutch warehouse – he asked if British Special Forces could be deployed to retrieve them (before dismissing the idea as "nuts"); and he insists that the reports of wild parties and other breaches of Covid rules at Downing Street were absurdly overblown by his political foes and embittered former advisers. "I saw no cake," he says. "I ate no blooming cake. If this was a party, it was the feeblest event in the history of human festivity."
'Spiffing anecdotes' don't ring quite true
Cripes! Big Dog is back, said Alice Thomson in The Times, with a memoir that is packed with "derring-do, jolly japes" and "alluring alliteration". Unleashed is clearly great fun: much more so than anything produced by David Cameron or the "wilting lettuce". But then you remember: this "clown" was PM during a global pandemic; and he produces this – a book with little serious analysis, it seems, but lots of "spiffing anecdotes" that don't ring quite true. Did he really plan to invade a Nato ally? Was he really swept out to sea in an Argos inflatable kayak in Scotland, in 2020? Did he really see no cake? I know three people who were there and say that he was definitely "ambushed" by one.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Amusing stories mixed with 'personal attacks'
Most political memoirs are exercises in spin, said Sean O'Grady in The Independent; but they usually make some effort to "meet the truth halfway". Johnson, by contrast, continues to insist that he was unfairly drummed out of office – but gives no detailed account of where and how Sue Gray, or the Standards Committee, erred in their judgements. Similarly, he asserts that he now thinks the Covid virus was created in a Chinese lab, yet doesn't say what has led him to that conclusion, or why he thought otherwise at the time.
This lazy book seems to amount to a string of amusing, if self-mythologising, stories mixed with "personal attacks" on people who got in his way. Some of them – such as his "misogynistic" stab at Theresa May, whose nostrils he dwells on – are unworthy even of him.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why are meteorologists worried Trump could ruin their forecasts?
Today's Big Question How a conservative push to dismantle a little-known government agency could lead to big headaches for anyone hoping to get a handle on their local weather
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Such wrongdoing encourages foreign corrupt practices'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Can Japan's new prime minister govern effectively?
In The Spotlight A 'popular gadfly' gets the top job
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Silk Roads at The British Museum: a 'mesmerising' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Epic' show explores the many routes connecting East and West, through a collection of 'beautiful, unusual, intricate' treasures
By The Week UK Published
-
Sarah Moss picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The author shares works by Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Wordsworth and Ross Gay
By The Week UK Published
-
Giant: 'stylishly crafted' Roald Dahl play is 'spectacularly good'
The Week Recommends Mark Rosenblatt's 'fearless' debut examines the character of the controversial children's author
By The Week UK Published
-
6 historic homes in the colonial style
Feature A home in Connecticut
By The Week Staff Published
-
Monsters: why is the Menendez brothers Netflix hit so controversial?
Talking Points Ryan Murphy’s latest true-crime series recounts infamous 1989 Beverly Hills murders, but some critics say his retelling takes too many liberties with the truth
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Rivers Solomon's 6 chilling books about the dark side of motherhood
Feature Rivers Solomon is the author of "Model home," and "Sorrowland"
By The Week US Published
-
Giant thin and crispy brown butter chocolate chip cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These delicious chocolate chip cookies will please your sweet tooth
By The Week UK Published
-
His Three Daughters: 'sharply written' family drama is 'deeply affecting'
The Week Recommends 'Absorbing' film about three estranged sisters caring for their dying father in New York
By The Week UK Published