Janet Street-Porter

Janet Street-Porter tells it like it is, and you feel she's having a good time sharing.

I kind of feel it's a book she knocked out in her lunch-time, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's all you self-helpers deserve! Haha.

If you're looking for a psychological treatise, emo-indulgence or sympathy - are you mad, this is Janet Street-Porter!
If you're looking for a swift kick up the backside, you're in the right place.

She's got a lot of interesting opinions and my granny would say show more she's got grit. Some people would say that a woman with four marriages and several relationships behind her has a nerve giving relationship advice (in one chapter) but she sees her serial monogamy as success, and I liked that. She makes no apologies and doesn't appear to waste energy on recriminations or self-loathing. She kicks bottom.

It's not a book that is going to change your life, but it might help you get your head on straight. I did find the changing font size and colours a bit irritating after a while, but over all I enjoyed the book a great deal. show less

This account takes us through Street-Porter's childhood to her late teens/early twenties. The tone of the book very much fit with her personality (as seen on tv), her voice very clear. It was funny and at times abrasive and unsympathetic: she seems to pull few punches in her personal as well as her public life.

I'd be interested to read more about her, find out whether she has softened at all in her attitude to her family (or anything at all!) over the years.

Sometimes it read a bit like a show more list of famous/talented people she has met, but I guess it's part of her life that would look like name-dropping however she wrote it, so barefacedly is as good a way as any! show less

Really enjoyed this. The name dropping seemed annoying till I realized that it was themed around the friendships in her early career. Also with being from an architectural background she went what I call a bit PD Jamesish which annoys me desperately but I just ignored that. With being from a fashion background too the fashion commentaries wore on me :-) (did I say I enjoyed it ? ) but I just ignored that after a while.
Like the skilled journalist she is she kept her audience despite the show more blips and I've been on the lookout for more of her books ever since. show less

I think this book definitely wins an award of "most deceiving summary" & "most misleading false advertising".

The book jacket lures you in with statements like, "tried to murder her sister" and "extraordinarily bizarre childhood". Being the lover of memoirs and human's life stories that I am, these lines had me interested enough to pick up the book.

What a mistake. Her and her sister had, if anything, slightly elevated rivalry that many sibling endure and her childhood was incredibly mundane. show more Her parents were hard-working middle-class Welsh who were stiff and lacked compassion [perspective of author, not of mine]. She claims many times throughout the book that her mother was "oppressive" and that she "wished they'd have chopped her head off" during her mother's surgery. Really, the book is an account of a selfish teenager with an extreme lack of morals, feelings for others and took no responsibility for any of her mistakes. [She so lightly regards her abortions, infidelity, etc]. I found myself much more interested in looking of the geographies & pronunciation of the Welsh cities where her family culminated than reading about her childhood.

The pros were: her lovely and refreshing account of what it was like to see a washing machine at age 4 [truly the highlight of the book and a testament to the quality her writing could be..]. She saw many amazing bands [Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc] and was crafty enough to make and produce her own clothing; something I admire.

Lastly, I found her writing style to be bland. She wasn't able to paint pictures with her words or even keep track of her story in a chronological sense. All around, a largely disappointing read. I should add that I'd never heard of Janet Street-Porter before picking up this book and it's my understanding she has quite the following, although I'm still unsure what her claim to fame is. show less