Spare

 

Have you even heard of this book? Seems like it was a such a quiet release, you may not have noticed.

Yeah, right.

Spare was met with such publishing fanfare, it broke a Guinness World Record for fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time. Between the early reviews and the pre-publishing interviews Harry did, it's shocking anyone needs to read it at all.

But, I did.

I pre-ordered the book, which perfectly timed with a flight I was taking (you need the most readable books when you travel, of course.) Then, I had to dodge every soundbite and every Tweet to make sure there was some suspense left when I finally had a chance to read it.

How you feel about the book's existence depends on how you feel about the royal family, I suppose. Hate em and think the whole thing is frivolous and dumb? You'd hate the book. LOVE the royal family and think Harry is a traitor (and Meghan is some sort of villain?), you'd hate the book. But if, like me, you're both fascinated with what happens behind these gilded doors and a little indifferent to the royals anyway? You might devour it, just as I did.

Harry's story is a mix of personal memoir and a look behind the palace gates. He talks about details and people that I don't think the royal family wants you to know about (the latest uproar: did he give away details of palace layouts that could put the monarchy at risk?? Gasp, says the British press!). He shares private conversations between him and Prince William that don't exactly leave the heir in a positive light. He reveals who he believes are the villains in his story that ultimately drove him and Meghan out of the royal bubble for good (and they're exactly who I suspected they would be.)

Beyond the palace intrigue, though, is the personal story of a man still devastated by the loss of his mother. It's the story of a boy left so alone with his grief that he found himself wishing for war to find companionship and a place where he felt his existence actually mattered. It's the story like so many: of anxiety, family troubles, the feeling that we're never quite good enough. 

That part could be anyone's story, then you add on the relationship with the British press that has a family backstabbing each other as a form of self-preservation.

I won't go on too much, but I would absolutely recommend this book if you want to read a deeply personal memoir and get some juicy royal details along the way.