Mark's Music · Books

I just finished Jeremy Clarksons latest compilation of weekly tirades in the Sunday Times. “And Another Thing….The World According to Clarkson, Vol 2″ is the sequel to the original missive of the same name, with this latest Christmas release, covering his weekly column from the Times from 2004 to 2005.

The first book, which I encountered upon recommendation, probably about 2 years ago, had Jeremy Clarkson me in stitches, and was one of the funniest things I’ve read in a long time. The thing about Clarkson, is he is exactly what the Doctor ordered for when this politically correct world gone mad is driving you round the bend. I hate to think of myself as a right wing, anti-environmental, anti-everything cynical bastard - because that’s how Clarkson gets portrayed in the media - so it’s worrying how often you find yourself agreeing with him.
So the first book was a good laugh, with much poking fun at the establishment, the idiocies of living in Britain in the 21st Century, and just how stupid we all look, most, if not all, of the time. Many giggles to be had, and a good book to keep in the toilet for those short moments of boredom.

However, I have a bit of a problem with the second book. I’m not sure if I’ve changed, or whether Clarkson’s just gone a bit darker or even more cynical in recent years. It’s not that I don’t like the book - I’ve loved it. And there’s been quite a few giggles and outrageous moments of laughter at some of the more ridiculous commentary. No, the problem I have, is more than often, I finish reading one of his particuarly elequoent rants about how his Tonyness and all his idiotic chums are busy hammering the final nail into our plywood save-the-earth coffins, or about the Green Fascism that is slowly taking over the world that tells us all that the sky is falling in on a regular basis - and I just find an inner rage boiling inside me, because IT’S ALL TRUE. Too often than not, I finish a chapter and just go “He’s bloody right”. And that causes a mixture of anger and agreession, because he is, and much of the world really does appear to be going up the swanney. Either that, or I am becoming Jeremy Clarkson. Not sure which option is scarier.

Roll on the return of Top Gear then