In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a. Masters, alexander 2011, the genius in my basement, harper collins ome, isbn 9780007445271. Told backwards stuarts idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happy pdf golucky little boy of twelve. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. 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. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Id seen the film and absolutley loved it thanks to benedict cumberbatch and tom hardy. A life backwards, asks you to join him in celebrating an unknown and important life left on the scrap heap in 2001, 148 tattered and moldcovered notebooks were discovered lying among broken bricks in a skip on a building site in cambridge.
Stuart, the focus of alexander masters book, is as enigmatic and polarizing as real people tend to get. 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. Alexander masters has been portrayed by benedict cumberbatch in stuart. Alexander masters is an author, screenwriter, and worker with the homeless. A life backwards is the story of an extraordinary friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to. 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. A life backwards kindle edition by masters, alexander. The main characters of this non fiction, biography story are. A life backwards, the biography of a cambridge homeless man could also go by the title stuart. Jan 25, 2011 this website and its content is subject to our terms and conditions. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading stuart. A life backwards, the new book by alexander masters, deserves every accolade that can be awarded. Mar 04, 2006 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 is akin to a horrific train wreck that you can not tear your eyes away from. A life backwards is a writers quest to give voice to a man who, beneath his forbidding exterior, has a message for us all. A gripping whodoneit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying on a sidewalk in cambridge, england, and. If it wasnt for stuarts full disclosure and willingness to share his life story, there would be no stuart, a life backwards. A life backwards by alexander masters librarything. Stuart a life backwards download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. I have rarely been so affected by a book and reading about the life of stuart shorter was a terrifying experience. When stuart shorter a homeless alcoholic with a violent past meets writer and charity worker alexander masters, they strike up an unlikely. May 17, 2019 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. Shocking, inspiring, and hilarious by turns, stuart. A whodunit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying on a sidewalk in cambridge, england, and leads through layers of hell.
A life backwards by alexander masters in this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. Pdf stuart a life backwards download full pdf book download. Alexander masters won an arts council writers award for stuart and went on to win. A life backwards 2005 2006 is an explicitly multimodal text which makes use of drawings, photographic images, newspaper articles, and so on, in the reconstruction of the life. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters presents a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and the.
Stuart a life backwards by alexander masters 2006 paperback. Writer and charity worker alexander masters takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. However, if every medical professional read stuart. Apr 07, 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. My only regret or concern is that at the end of the book i was surprised to see that alexander masters did not thank stuart shorter for providing the material for this book. Masters own insights into the torturous process of writing his book and into the results of his own research into the issue of homelessness are similarly to the point. A life backwards by alexander masters and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A life backwards by alexander masters when i found out that this was one of the 25 books i had won from booka i was really excited.
A life backwards 1st harper perennial edition by masters, alexander isbn. Tes global ltd is registered in england company no 02017289 with its registered office at 26 red lion square london wc1r 4hq. 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 in djvu, epub, fb2 download ebook. Whether youre looking for a business, life hack, recipe or just the perfect app to use, blogs will always appear to have the answers to. Brilliant, humane and funny, it is as extraordinary and unexpected as the life it describes.
Terrifying because, written backwards as it is, i knew i was coming closer with every page to some kind of explanation for what happened to stuart in his early life. Xpdf characters of this non fiction biography story are the book has been awarded with guardian stuart a life backwards kindle edition by alexander. There is a reason that masters introduces us to stuart now, rather than beginning at the childhood that spawned this creature. Alexander masters, the bestselling author of stuart. A life backwards kindle edition by alexander masters.
A life backwards 2007, for the people 2018 and zooland. It won masters critical praise and a television movie. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 300 pages and is available in hardcover format. 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. It is a story told backwards, as he wanted, from the man he was when alexander masters met him to a happygolucky little boy of twelve. Alongside this alexander looks backwards over stuart s adult life and childhood to try and discover what went wrong with his life. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait. Told backwards stuart s idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happygolucky little boy of twelve. As alexander learns more about stuart s complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and stuart advises him to tell the story backwards, so that its more exciting like a tom clancy murder mystery. 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. Alexander masters, or as his subject stuart shorter calls him, middle class c, narrates the life story of a man most of us would literally step over on the street, with no overt solution on how he may be rescued.
A life backwards, it may prevent the health service from contributing to further marginalisation of the already marginalised. 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. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Digital rights management drm the publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in order to unlock and read it. 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. The first edition of the novel was published in 2005, and was written by alexander masters. A life backwards is a remarkable account of a free fall into the state that british social workers label chaotic homelessness. I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that i hardly know where to begin. A life backwards by alexander masters harpercollins. Stuart a life backwards by alexander masters 2006 paperback on. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of cambridge. 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.
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