The world is abuzz with the release of Prince Harry’s memoir, “Spare.” From leaked stories of the royal family to the controversial Nazi uniform he wore to a party, Prince Harry has revealed a lot about his life in this book. With its mixed reviews, people are wondering what critics think of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir. While the internet is filled with stories and revelations, book critics have weighed in on the book as a whole. Some praised it for its frankness and detail, while others found it to be too revealing and lacking in context. With so many opinions swirling around, it’s hard to know what to make of Prince Harry’s memoir. Read on to find out what book critics think of “Spare.”
People are watching Harry and Meghan reading a leak of Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” and now having the opportunity to read the entire book, stories about the royal family have taken the internet by storm. But what do book critics think of this Duke of Sussex book? The reviews are mixed and complex, and many, even those who liked the book, noted that for a prince who wants privacy, it does reveal a lot.
Prince Harry’s spare book has taken the internet by storm
Even before this book came out, many stories were leaked from Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, and the revelations, accusations and stories were wild.
For context, about a week before the book came out, an excerpt from it about Prince Harry wearing a controversial Nazi uniform to a party went viral. The internet erupted with an updated version of this story when Prince Harry explained that William and Kate were involved. Other stories emerged about the brothers’ feud, as well as a story about how Camilla wanted Catherine to change her name after she married William. In the book and in the interview, Prince Harry also spoke about his relationship with Camilla and claimed that she “sacrificed” him to the press. These are just a few of the stories Prince Harry tells and the statements he makes in space.
However, while the internet is full of these stories and revelations, critics have already had their say on the book as a whole.
What critics think about Prince Harry’s spare part
New York Times critic Alexandra Jacobs explained that she wanted to like the memoir, especially since JR Meringer helped write it, and he is a writer she adores. Then she wrote that she ended up liking some of them, but not others.
Like its author, “Spare” is all over the place, both emotionally and physically. In other words, it doesn’t keep him on his toes.
The BBC review has a headline that calls Spare “the strangest book ever written by a member of the royal family”. He also described the “ghost-written” book as a “fast-paced, fast-paced account” of Prince Harry’s story. He also noted what he felt was missing from the memoir:
What the book lacks is an understanding of any wider context of the rest of the world outside. It was as if he was blinded by paparazzi flashlights.
Then, Coughlan noted that he thought readers would be irritated by the book’s “self-absorption”. He wrote that although there are so many stories in this book that we’ve never heard before, there may be too many of them, making the final words of the review “TMI. Too much information…”
WSJ Joan Kaufman also spoke about the enormous detail Prince Harry goes into, noting that his “over-sharing” was a problem in the book. She referred to a story about a frozen penis cited by both of the aforementioned journalists, using the book’s title to make her point. The critic wrote:
In his memoir Spare – settling scores, setting records – you may have heard of it and then heard some more – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, spills his tea on his frozen penis (spare us), loss of virginity (please spare us) and his heavy youthful use of drugs and alcohol (who would have thought?).
She also explained the opinion of many on the Internet, especially those who criticized the documentary series Harry and Meghan namely:
What can irritate the reader the most is hypocrisy. Harry claims he wants privacy, but here he is spilling all about Oprah, Anderson and more.
Meanwhile, The Independent gave the book four stars out of five. Lucy Pavia wrote of the revelation of many new stories and thought it was well done and “stunningly frank”. She explained:
This book does not so much lift the veil over private royal life as tear it apart and shake up its contents. But it’s also richly detailed and at times beautifully written; if Harry was going to set his family on fire, at least he did it in style.
At the end of the review, however, Pavia noted what many critics also pointed out, including Victoria Murphy of Town and Country, who wrote:
There is no doubt that Harry’s the story is heartbreaking at times, and it would be hard to come away from reading Spare without feeling compassion for him. If you end up caring about him, when you finish this book, you may find yourself turning the last page and hoping that one day he doesn’t wake up and wish he could take it all back.
I’ll leave you with an extract from Charlotte Higgins’ review in The Guardian, which explains the mixed opinions of many critics, including serious doubts about how much information Prince Harry has revealed. She wrote:
The backup is now available to read and you can watch “Harry and Meghan” with a Netflix subscription.
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