Jeremy
Clarkson has long been a favorite in both the written word through his
Sunday Times columns and through his very popular TV series Top Gear. This
new book Don’t stop me now (Penguin, ISBN 978-0-141-02611-4, 2007)
comes after his very hilarious World according to Clarkson, volumes 1 and 2.
This book has very little to
do with motor cars, though each chapter is ostensibly a review of a
particular model. If you purchase this book hoping to learn something about
motor cars, you will be disappointed. You will, however, learn something of
Jeremy Clarkson. And his opinions, of which he is never short or obtuse.
Clarkson is a master of the
art of metaphor, and as an example, describing the air-conditioner in a
Peugeot he writes, “The Rolls-Royce system works with the power of 30
domestic refrigerators. Peugeot’s works with the power of an asthmatic in
Bangladesh blowing at you through a straw.” But whilst these are very
amusing in the context of the individual article, when you read the same one
three or four times when the articles are published together, the amusement
ceases. Metaphors, like jokes, do not bear repeating. Clarkson even
writes, “Not being five, I find all books dull after I have read them once.”
I must also comment on the
individual sections. The same format for each chapter - a seemingly
unrelated introduction, mentioning another car other than the one supposedly
the key player in the chapter, then a small section on what he liked,
followed by what he didn’t, tends to reveal writing to a formula. A
successful formula in a weekly column, but not so successful in book form.
However, ignoring the
supposed motor car topic, you do get such wonderful sociological snippets as
his dissertation on balding. “Baldness is bad enough when it appears from
the front, but when it starts at the back, creating a big pink crater, it
looks stupid. And what makes it worse is the mirror lies. It tells you
that you still have a full rug. It tells you that all is well. Your hole
is as invisible as the hole in the ozone layer, but you know it’s there all
right, like a huge crop-circle, amusing people who sit behind you in
cinemas.”
It is this deviation from
the pure motoring theme that gives Clarkson his followers. You will not
glean much motoring information from his weekly columns, or for that matter,
from his Top Gear programs, but you will get much enjoyment from his
description of life on this planet.
I enjoyed the book, provided
that I took it in small lumps. You will also. At B. 495 on the Bookazine
shelves, it is an inexpensive chuckle, but, for me, not as good as The
World according to Clarkson.
Jeremy Clarkson is a superb
writer with a pithy wit and an excellent command of hyperbole and metaphor.
That is why you read/buy Jeremy Clarkson. However, he just has to make sure
he can give his readers something different, and not rely on collecting
previous work which is then collated between the Penguin covers.
