Book Review: The Oona King Diaries
Some political memoirs are enlightening revelations, others are a window into governance. Oona's diaries are a cynical justification of her own failed ambitions. The diaries are not, despite her assurances, contemporary but are filled with post facto rewrites, often blatantly so.
She comes across as being completely overwhelmed, thoroughly disorganised and virtually friendless in the House. Somehow she portrays herself as an independent rebel, something not in accordance with the facts.
A mean and bitter streak is occasionally on show. After her first Question in the house she says "a lot of Tory MP's came up to me saying they were impressed. Low expectations of black women can sometimes be helpful." Alternatively, the explanation could be that MP's traditionally say some kind words after a new member's first intervention.
Strangely enough, Oona is never short of a catty remark when ever Diane Abbot appears - a black, female MP.
In her lengthy introduction she explains how she studied Islam - getting a First, naturally. Strangely, to mark moments of great joy, she writes the Arabic phrase "Alli Akbar".
Oops. Even the Shia would find that deeply blasphemous. How can one not be aware of Allahu Akbar, especially when you claim an expertise in Islamic studies and live in a multicultural seat?
What is so exhausting about this book is the relentless me, me, me. Not one word of praise given to her is omitted, no admiring glance unrecorded. Underneath this, there is nothing. No substance, no revelation, just a self obsessed little girl drowning out of her depth.
The afterword is a real gem. After losing her seat our heroine finds herself on a plane and gets into conversation with a fellow passenger, who spontaneously starts spouting off about his wonderful, fantastic MP, a certain Oona King, whereupon our heroine reveals herself, the supplicant denies it could be her as she is so youthful!
In the blurb, Neil Kinnock says "It would make a good novel - but people would think it a little far fetched". This could be an example of Neil's famed sense of humour, but in this book the truth is stretched beyond breaking point time and time again. I've read plenty of politicians memoirs and this is perhaps the most shallow, the most self-serving and the least useful to history.
I think this review is a bit
I think this review is a bit tough. Do you know her?
Shallow, self-serving and
Shallow, self-serving and useless to history. Hmmm... About sums her up. We need better women in parl. if we are ever to get a hand on the tiller.
I agree with the contributor
I agree with the contributor who implied that you had done a rather comprehensive hatchet job on the woman. I certainly hold no brief for Oona King, but even if her book was a lot of useless crap, does it really matter? After all, it doesn't hurt anyone, it doesn't worsen our lot, and the worst thing that can happen is that it won't sell many copies (which can only hurt her). Lets face it, politicians are economical with the truth in all circumstances, so why should we expect better from memoirs or diaries?
Tough? I missed a lot out.
Tough? I missed a lot out. Does it matter what politicians write in their diaries? Yes it does, especially if they are still active in politics. Especially if they are full of unashamed untruths.
Well no, actually, Quarsan,
Well no, actually, Quarsan, I don't think it does matter, and the proof of that is that there are enough people out there to expose the untruths and provide the necessary correctives. Your "review", suitably expanded to give chapter and verse, would be precisely such a corrective, wouldn't it.
Feel free to read the book
Feel free to read the book and form your own opinion. That's what I did.
Does it really matter?
Does it really matter? (anonomous). Of course you might say it's only a politicians self-serving biograghy.
However, others might ask what stuff are you on? A corrupt politician once said, "Once one compromises oneself on something very small, it gets easier to compromise on the bigger issues." Politicians are public servants. The public have a right to expect the truth and nothing but.
Where does one draw the line between some self-serving crap, fiddling of public funded expense accounts, misleading parliment and a series of lies that take the country to an undeclared and illegal war that kills hundreds of thousands? Which untruths are OK, or are they all lies?
In my book, none of them are OK. In this, I suspect that I am with most of the thinking world.
Careful now, redadare,
Careful now, redadare, you'll choke on your own (I suspect synthetic) indignation.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're NOT on anything when you (1) put some "self-serving crap" (presumably Oona's diaries) on the same level as taking a country to war, or (2) apparently seriously expect a politician never to lie ("the truth and nothing but"). Where's your sense of proportion, laddy? And when were you born - the day before yesterday?
Rather than hinting, as another correspondent did, that Quarsan knows Oona King personally, I rather suspect that your attack on her book just reveals how hard up you good people are for proper stories. You're really finding it tough now that Tony's gone, aren't you?
I'll never forget her asking
I'll never forget her asking Blair at PM's questions, in the middle of the invasion, if the British army were going to spare the "holy shrines" at Nasiriyah. It was so obviously a planted question.
Maybe that was the reason she lost the Bethnal Green election. I hope so.
She was and is a creep of
She was and is a creep of the first order. From day one it was obvious she was interested in one thing and one thing only, power. And she was prepared to do any amount of unwholesome arse-licking to get it. Thank God she fell by the wayside. One suspects she is also talentless.
johnf