Arise Sir Tom Jones: The Biography
by Gwen Russell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gwen RussellEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-28
ISBN: 1844543226
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: John Blake
Book Reviews of Arise Sir Tom Jones: The Biography
Book Review: An Easy Read, But Often Lacking In Any Real Detail Apart From Tom's Sexual Exploits.
Summary: 3 Stars
There have been a couple of notable Tom Jones biographies written in more recent years, namely 'The Biography' by Robin Eggar, and 'Close Up' by Lucy Ellis and Bryony Sutherland, both being fairly well detailed and also well balanced in their interpretation of the events surrounding Tom's life. However, and unfortunately, this latest biography really is neither detailed or well balanced and there's a strong aura of tabloid style journalism throughout its pages - in fact there are times when one could be forgiven for thinking it had been written by a lovestruck teenager.
The book's author Gwen Russell's main criteria seems to be about uncovering Tom's marital infidelities, which seems very much to be the book's chief endeavour. Yes, of course there is an element of telling Tom's story from a historical point of view (Tom's background, becoming successful, his comeback, etc.), but this is very scant in its delivery and a means only of getting to its main pre-occupation. In fact to make matters worse Gwen spends a lot of her time excusing Tom's sexual infidelities on the grounds of the natural male chauvanism inherant in his upbringing, and at times suggesting his wife Linda had it coming to her because she was boring, which hardly seems a very fair approach. The constant remarks on how handsome and irresistable he is to women becomes very tedious after a while, especially when that time could be devoted to something more constructive (his career). The only real time a chink appears in her defense of him is when she reveals the details of the child he fathered in the late eighties which he's yet to meet but is being forced to pay maintenance towards, and even then there's a suggestion by her it's because he wants to maintain his traditional family values (disowning a child born outside of wedlock). It's a strange way of looking at it, indeed!
'Arise Sir Tom Jones's real strength is the fact it's a fairly undemanding and an easy read. It's the type of book that once started on one is tempted to feel like reading all the way through (often in one go), despite it's obvious shortcomings. This is partly because of its journalistic tone which emphasises the more sensational aspects of the story without getting bogged down in the finer (and often more important) details. However, if you are truly a Tom Jones fan who wants it learn about his true story, this book is pretty inadequate much of the time, except if you're addicted to scandal, that is!
Gwen Russell very much writes like a Tom Jones obsessive - she clearly loves the man, although i'm doubtful as to whether it's for his music. They say 'love is blind' and reading this book one can easily come to the conclusion that it sure is !
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