Thread 3: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The Observer The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...

Thread One ^www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368194-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?^

Thread 2 Thread 2. To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film? | Mumsnet

I’ve gone to three meetings of two different ones in my hometown over the past year, just because I noticed they were reading novels I’d recently read, and two had the authors, who had a local connection, dropping in at the beginning.

All three meetings were quite weird. The one without the author present featured a lot of people complaining because the novel wasn’t a completely different kind of novel eg they’d have preferred it to be a suspense novel when it was a coming of age novel. When I said ‘But it’s not trying to be the kind of novel you’re complaining it isn’t’, they got very cross.

One that had the author there at the start was all nice to her face and started ripping the book apart the moment she left.

The other that had the author present consisted entirely of very young fangirls (the same author also writes YA) saying ‘I loved this bit!’ and one who rolled up her sleeve to show she had a line from the novel tattooed on her arm.

I conclude that book groups, at least in my neck of the woods, attract quite odd people.

I've been thinking exactly the same thing not that I ever thought I'd fit in with a book club in the first place

Exactly! I’ve only seen the film, but surely the same story arc of “degenerative illness- redemptive hike - ahh, all better” across 3 books would get a bit tedious and stretch credulity, even without figures from your past popping up to allege that you’re a thieving, duplicitous wrong ‘un.

I never wanted to join a book club (read Eng Lit at uni, it all seemed a bit much like work) but was strong-armed into it by friends. Like all book clubs, it had a matriarch and I didn't agree with her on some books. I am no longer a member of a book club.

Having said that, husband is member of an all male one and they have proper rules, vote for their next book and eat good food and I am a bit envious of that. They even have a spreadsheet.

I'm not surprised.

Ultimately it's just dead embarrassing isn't it? Isaacs especially is hopefully probably curled up with embarrassment.

Its really troubling @Orangesandlemons77 , isn't it?

I think this is one of the major issues. Caravaggio (probably) killed someone in a duel/bar brawl. Dickens was a horrible husband. On quite another level😁 Jason Isaacs may have bigged up his teenage skateboarding efforts a bit. None of this matters to their legacy, genius or creative canon.

Raynor/Sally and Moth/Tim were their own product, their own legacy and it increasingly seems their own created entity. It does matter if they lied/obfuscated because the reality they put forward as truth is the one that people bought into and they have been deceived.

Yes, especially if consultants are recommending it to patients.

Re The Rest Is Entertainment, amused at how often Richard Osman felt the need to inform everyone how he's not read it because it's "not [his] cup of tea"

I suspect the book, movie and merchandise will only become more popular.

Yes, in other words he thinks he's far too intelligent for such piffle.

I think it's like everything nowadays. People become emotionally wedded to their opinion and absolutely entrench themselves - it defines who they are and they defend it to the death in the face of all opposing evidence. Very few people say "actually I was wrong about that, thinking about it" or "I don't know what to think about this - it's complicated".

You see it all the time - with Brexit, with Trumpism, the trans debate, Gaza...everything.

I thought this was a nice, measured comment by an instagram user on the PSPA instagram post announcing they have cut ties with RW.

I'm reposting it here as it is in the public domain, so I think it's OK (I've bolded the last bit because I thought it was a particularly good point):

I am so saddened by this article. Ray and Moth have been such a beacon of hope for my husband who has CBD and I. We’ve read all her books. I don't want to pass judgment based on this article. I am not condoning the allegations but the article is very one sided and Ray’s voice is missing from the narrative. For whatever reason, they had gotten into debt and made serious mistakes. I think that Moth's ‘distant relative' was the ‘Cooper’ in her book. He was a loan shark and they paid back their debts and lost their home in the process. It seems to me that they have already paid for their mistakes.
The truth is that Ray’s books have done so much to bring awareness to CBD/PSP, and Ray and Moth have made a huge contribution with fundraising for PSPA. This cannot be minimised.
She has also brought awareness to the plight of the homeless community with such compassion and has fundraised for their cause too. And her books have highlighted the importance of nature and the natural world, and our connection to it and how our actions are impacting wildlife.
Honestly, I am so sorry that this article will take away all the good that has come out of her words.
With regards to Moth’s CBD diagnosis, We bumped into Ray and Moth on their Thames Path fundraiser walk last year (as they passed through our town). Moth was walking with a stick and his stride was unstable so he definitely has some sort of movement disorder. He also didn’t finish the walk as he ended up in hospital. They were both very down to earth and kind.
I very much believe Moth has a CBS diagnosis but since no one knows what causes the condition he may truly have a slower progressing version. Or maybe the long gruelling walks have played a part in slowing the progression of his condition. There is plenty of science showing that exercise, fasting, and being in nature to calm the nervous system are therapeutic. We just don’t know. None of the neurologists that the journalist interviewed have examined Moth so we should not make any judgement on his condition. That is cruel.
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I wanted her to be blameless in how she ended up homeless because I want to be blameless for how I’ve ended up where I am in life. I needed a story like that to feel good and hopeful. Now that she’s not blameless anymore, I need a new ‘saint’.

I agree that books can be inspiring @Wetoldyousaurus and uplifting, but based on your latest post I honestly think that maybe (if you've not already) invest in some therapy/ counselling to help you along. You don't necessarily need a role model to 'show you the way' but you sound like you need to unravel a lot by talking to someone. I hope you find yourself in a better place.

Yes, he’s become deeply annoying of late, and keeps interrupting MH, who is the reason I listen to it.

And I’d have said that insofar as The Salt Path was a huge feelgood UK bestseller, like RO’s Thursday Murder Club books (which are also redemptive stories about an often-overlooked group), it would be exactly his cup of tea. He clearly has a very sure instinct for what sells. I’d have thought he’d have been interested in the appeal of another bestseller that, I imagine, will have been consumed by a broadly similar readership.

The implications she is making about cooper are unfounded and this person clearly has a bias

poor them getting into financial trouble but fails to mention it’s because sally stole from her employer

ETA this seems like the basis of their rebuttal and they’re testing it out

I'd be keen to see him facing disciplinary action for such a credulous and thoughtless recommendation.

Sorry if it’s been posted but I’ve not got the time to keep up with the thread.
This mornings The Rest is Entertainment was about this podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-entertainment/id1718287198?i=1000716202374

@HolyPond the Murder Club books are no more my cup of tea than The Salt Path. So I agree with you!
Moreover the Salt Path and the first Murder Club book were given to me by the same person, so I think they’re firmly on the same shelf!

I read the sample of the book and to me it lacked authenticity. I could not believe it from the first few pages so I decided not to read the rest. It seems my spidey senses were accurate!

Agree, I would very much see them as sitting in the same bracket.

Oddly, I'm now leaning more to reading the Thursday Murder Club books 😆

I've not so far, because they didn't feel like my cup of tea but then neither did The Salt Path and I enjoyed that when I read it lol

James O’Brien is talking to the journalist, right now on LBC

It's actually the opposite. Richard Osman very much presents himself as a man of the people. He's written one of the most popular fiction books of recent time. He was involved in developing the formats for Deal or No Deal, Wipe Out and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

He's a crowd pleaser who understands popular culture, not middle-brow book club reads.