Title: Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters
Genre: Non-fiction, BiographyRating: 4/5
Alexander Masters, author, first met Stuart Shorter, homeless ex-con, as Stuart was begging by a rough sleepers' day centre in Cambridge, England. What followed was an extraordinary friendship and the winding and chaotic revelation of the events that transformed Stuart from a happy child to the suicidal, homeless drug addict that he became.
I picked up a copy of Stuart: A Life Backwards after realizing that the film starring Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch was actually based on a memoir. It's one of the most interesting biographies, frankly one of the more interesting books, I've ever read. Stuart's story is at times absolutely hilarious and at others so heartbreaking that it moved me to tears. Masters' incredible writing talent paints a vivid and empathetic portrait of Stuart. Though there is the odd dull moment (not uncommon in even the best of books), in the end, I think Masters accomplished what Stuart asked and created "something what people will read." As well, I loved the cartoons and maps; they're unpolished, just like Stuart was. I definitely recommend Stuart, even if biographies and memoirs aren't your thing. Fair warning, though, there are some dark topics involved.
