Thursday, December 9, 2010

Lazarus Declining

So not only was John Howard an average Prime Minister - but he is also a pretty average author. Because the great tome that he has spent over 3 years on - and which he has called "Lazarus Rising" is a dud.

You can read any review of it to discover what the reviewer said. The ones that I have read are not at all complementary. Two out of five stars seems to be the consensus.

"From the first word, I knew it was all written by John. I could feel it. It reads like a Howard speech: easy to understand, it flows well. Of course, the book is all about him; fair enough, because prime ministers are at the centre of the action and nothing big happens unless they want it to happen". Says Peter Reith - and he is an ex Howard minister. The reviews don't get any better than that, Virginia ;-)

But here's the rub. With few exceptions nobody who actually votes Liberal will have read it. Because the people who vote Liberal don't actually read anything of substance. They get their news and information from Channel 10 and the test pattern. And some of them read look at the pictures in the "Women’s Weekly".

And nobody on the other side is going to read it - because they all despise the man. There is no way that any thinking person is going to read Howard's story - because there is far too much good stuff to read and not enough hours in the day - to take on his rewriting of Australian political history.

Which probably explains why it is in the “remainder bin” at my local bookshop? Along with "The Costello Memoirs". Both political tomes are sitting their unloved and unread for between $10.00 and $15.00 each. It's just hilarious.

So if you have a conservative relative and can't find a Christmas present for them - then this is the perfect gift. It is cheap, the bookshop will love you for taking it, the relative will think you are *one of them* but he/she won't ever read it and it will end up in the trunk under their bed.

Which is precisely where it belongs?

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