Spare by Prince Harry

 

So in my pre-review for this book, I talked about how shocked I was that SPARE was so slow to gain steam (and it was, at first, before it became one of the nonfiction darlings of the year). I also talked about how heartbreaking I thought the title was, because I said I felt like it showed a lot about how he probably viewed himself, and how awful it must have been to spend your whole life having your sorrow and your mistakes picked apart under a microscope, while reporters mine your personal tragedies and adolescent faux pas for clicks.

Reading this book basically cemented all of my previous thoughts. I do believe Harry is a good person, fundamentally. And I love his wife, Meghan Markle. I don't think it's fair how much hate she gets in the media, and if you have any doubts that she's being treated differently than Kate is, go find one of those many (MANY) side-by-side comparisons of various The Sun articles reporting on them doing the same things, whether it's how they hold their baby bump or the eating of avocados during pregnancy.

SPARE is a really great book and I think it captures Harry's voice perfectly. It starts from childhood, where Harry talks about losing his mother and the effect it had on him, as well as his unhappiness and difficulty in school. These are great portions and I think anyone who has ever struggled in school will really relate to these chapters. For me personally, I thought the military section of the book was slow and a little dull, but it's obvious Harry really loved his work in the military and enjoyed working with his colleagues (who he seemed to consider friends and equals), and I understand why it was put into this book, to give context to who he is in his person and how it shaped his life.

By and far, though, the best part of this book-- and probably what most of us bought it for let's be honest-- is the part where he met Meghan and all of the drama that came from that. Now, I am a woman who loves hearing dudes simp about their wives. It makes me happy. And Harry is a simp of the finest order. The way he talks about Meghan is just seriously #goals. It's clear how much he loves her and just as clear how infuriated he was by the reception she got from some die-hard British monarchists, as well as some members of his own family. He doesn't give as much dirt as he probably could have, but what he does share kind of makes Charles and William look like huge dicks. It seems like a pretty toxic family dynamic, which was probably made worse by all that power and entitlement, so the end result is just a hot mess that any normal person (e.g. Meghan and subsequently Harry) would want to leave.

It was honestly sad how many of Harry's girlfriends couldn't take the pressure. But also totally real. He doesn't talk shit about any of his exes and it's clear he had a lot of affection especially for Chelsy. In this book you really get a sense of the stakes of being a major political figure, and the dangers that lurk beneath the glamorous facade. Ultimately, it does have a happy ending and I hope that Harry and Meghan end up being very happy with the life that they end up forging together with their kids.

P.S. I didn't know Tyler Perry was a Princess Diana fan but he ends up having a sweet cameo in this book where he plays the role of unexpected savior.

 4 out of 5 stars