White, author of the newbery honor book charlottes web and trumpet of the swan, about one small mouse on a very big adventure stuart little is no ordinary mouse. You need multi region palntsc dvd player to view it in usacanada. Like a break in the hedgerow during the country lane part of a journey. A writers quest to give voice to a man who, beneath his forbidding exterior, has a message for us all. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned. A life backwards by alexander masters 9780007200368. Stuarts life and way of thinking momentarily exposed. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and. A life backwards is a film about human diversity and the things we all share.
A life backwards is a rare, droll, moving film that grows to understand the maddening complexity of life and subsequent near hopelessness in trying to find the factors behind someones life. Mar 05, 2014 a writer cumberbatch takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart hardy, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in hi. Hardy did an an excellent job of showing the life, struggles, hardships, and thoughts of stuart shorter. To participate in the project, please visit its page, where you can join the project and discuss matters related to book articles. Sad, sad tale of homeless people in cambridge uk an area i knew well the authors description of the roger asham. Told backwards stuarts idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happygolucky little boy of twelve.
This brilliant biography, winner of the guardian first book award, presents a humbling portrait of homeless life, and is as extraordinary and unexpected as the. And a lot has gone wrong with stuart s life, from gluesniffing, to drug addiction and alcoholism, from minor crime to car theft, robbery, violence and possible charges of attempted murder. Even with a wellknown person it can be boring work to spend the first fifty pages reading facts and guesses about grandpa, granny, mum, dad, subject aged one, two, three, seven, eight. Buy stuart a life backwards and get the best deals.
A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart clive shorter at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. As you can tell through the first introduction of the movie, stuart has had a hard life. Stuarts backwards inspiration has turned out to be excellent. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. A life backwards was the winner of the 2005 guardian first book award and its a well deserved title. Indeed the usp of the book telling a life story in reverse came from stuarts rejection of masterss first attempts as bollocks boring and his. A gripping whodoneit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying. A life backwards was a 2007 bbc film based on the award winning biography, penned by alexander masters, of stuart clive shorter a homeless man living on the streets of cambridge in the year 2000. For an instant you glimpse scenery you havent seen before fields of poppy and cornflower, trees gnarled in the shape of. Racing through the proof copy, i took it at first to be a blackly comic novel. A life backwards 1st harper perennial edition by alexander masters isbn. A life backwards by alexander masters in this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. Awardwinning british drama based on the biography by alexander masters. In this case, the book is much more notable than the individual.
Benedict cumberbatch, tom hardy, nicola duffett, clairelouise cordwell, edna dore, candis nergaard, joanna maude, trevor sellers. To improve this article, please refer to the relevant guideline for the type of work. As the title of both book and film suggests, the book took the unusual approach of detailing stuarts life from his adult life down through to his childhood. Behind the scenes, castcrew interviews, interactive menu, scene access, synopsis. Biographies had never really appealed to me before, as i tend to associate them with celebrities. As stuart tells alexander about his traumatic life, alexander asks stuart if he can write his story. Its called a life backwards because i tried to write it forwards to begin with, but when stuart read the first manuscript his comment was its. Stuart is an alcoholic, drug addicted, violenceloving, chaotic homeless. To make it more interesting, stuart tells him to write it backwards. With a keen writers eye, a gift for narrative and a friendship that lasted only four years, masters recounts the life of stuart clive shorter whose untimely death in 2002 inspired this work.
Great savings free delivery collection on many items. With benedict cumberbatch, tom hardy, nicola duffett, clairelouise cordwell. Buy stuart a life backwards and get the best deals at the lowest prices on ebay. For an instant you glimpse scenery you havent seen before fields of poppy and cornflower, trees gnarled in the shape of demons. I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that i hardly know where to begin. Nov 23, 2006 its called a life backwards because i tried to write it forwards to begin with, but when stuart read the first manuscript his comment was its. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. The awardwinning drama stuart a life backwards details the friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator alexander and a chaotic homeless man stuart, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. A life backwards, by alexander masters the independent. A life backwards by alexander masters harpercollins. Stuart shows up at alexanders house with a blinding idea for the campaign to free two charity managers impisoned because some of the clients had been secretly dealing drugs in the homeless shelter. Unexpectedly, the book ends up being a lot about alexander and his feels and relationship with stuart. Items like this one may require a regionspecific or multi.
This brilliant biography, winner of the guardian first book award, presents a humbling portrait of homeless life, and is as extraordinary and unexpected as the man it describes. Benedict cumberbatch as alexander masters, tom hardy as stuart shorter. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of cambridge. A life backwards by alexander masters and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
A life backwards, the new book by alexander masters, deserves every accolade that can be awarded. He exemplifies the so called chaotic homeless people, who are on the streets because, curiously, it is the only place where they can manage. A life backwards by alexander masters librarything. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during. The titles were designed in the same style as stuart a life backwards titles on vimeo. The awardwinning drama stuart a life backwards details the friendship between a. The story revolves around reclusive author alexander benedict cumberbatch and homeless alcoholic stuart tom hardy who become friends when they meet during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable and violent, living homeless on the streets of cambridge. After awhile, alexander discovers he wants to write a book about his new friends life. A writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. Alexander is a middleclass, cambridge graduate and volunteer at the local homeless shelter who decides to write stuarts biography. Visit now to browse our huge range of products at great prices. A poignant, tragic true story that traces in reverse the events that shaped a homeless mans life.
Buy stuart a life backwards by alexander masters online from the works. A life backwards by alexander masters and a great selection of related books. The story is written in reverse by doing so alexander gains an insight into how stuart s life became so chaotic and out of control. At a swoop, it has solved the major problem of writing a biography of a man who is not famous. Forgive my possible lack of knowlidge concerning juridical terms in the uk. A life backwards by alexander masters in djvu, epub, fb2 download ebook. Stuart shorter spent his late teens and adult life alternating between the streets and prison with occasional, mostly short lived, forays into accommodation. A writer cumberbatch takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart hardy, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in hi. Stuart a life backwards dvd 2008 benedict cumberbatch bbc region 2. You need multiregion palntsc dvd player to view it in usacanada. A whodunit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying on a sidewalk in cambridge, england, and leads through layers of hell. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day.
This is unusual for a biography and i think works well. Told backwards stuart s idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happygolucky little boy of twelve. Most singleregion dvd players sold in australia play only region 4 dvds or region b2 bluray discs. As alexander gets to know stuart more he asks him if he can write his life story, it is stuart who suggests the story be written backwards. Alongside this alexander looks backwards over stuart s adult life and childhood to try and discover what went wrong with his life. A life backwards, i realised that often the best way to make a reader feel for what stuart had been through was not to state it precisely. A life backwards, i realised that often the best way to make a reader feel for what stuart had been through was not. As their friendship blossoms, he peels back the layers of a troubled past and discovers just as much about his own along the way. Stuart a life backwards details the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. This makes the book more difficult to follow than it could have been but does serve to reinforce the way stuart feels about his life. Jan 02, 2006 stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. As the writer learns more about the homeless mans complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and the. Sad, sad tale of homeless people in cambridge uk an area i knew well the authors. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart.
These titles were created a long with animated vignettes throughout this adaptation of alexander masters book. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Born to a family of humans, he lives in new york city with his parents, his older brother george, and snowbell the cat. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart clive shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. This article is within the scope of wikiproject books. And a lot has gone wrong with stuarts life, from gluesniffing, to drug addiction and alcoholism, from minor crime to car theft, robbery, violence and possible charges of attempted murder. It is rare that i like movies based on books that i have read. Start this article has been rated as startclass on the projects. Stuart a life backwards projects neal street productions. A major new launch for the paperback edition of the most original, capitvating and awardwinning memoir of the year. The concept of writing the life story backwards is a great idea actually coming from stuart but it does result in the timeline of his life becoming very chaotic as time jumps forwards and backwards.
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