Graham Linehan’s Book

[PretzelKnot]

Tough Crowd, due out 12 October. I’m delighted to see this. He is such a good writer and has sacrificed so much in defence of women’s rights and reality itself. Hope it’s a smash hit.

https://x.com/glinner/status/1702078826543448552?s=61&t=NHDSDk1MaF98_GOtcuLi0Q

No sign yet of a review in the Guardian.

😆😆😆 I’m imagining it sat on a table in the centre of a large room under a lead shield

“who amongst you is willing to read the thoughts of the impure one??”

Arty Morty points out the social snobbery and score settling in this review. It's also a bit of a 'demarcation dispute' as they were know to us old union hacks.

Can't have this uncouth fellow invading our turf. Turner is just a name to me so I googled. Married to the editor of the Sunday Times , her sister paper. Her late father in law was editor of the Guardian.

How like rural Ireland the London arts and media crowd are at the back of it all 😂. You'd never know whose cousin you were talking to. Is this part of the reason we are in this nightmare?

Just finished, to me it's definitely a book of two halves, first half quite light but the second half, describing his ostracism by those he thought he could trust is heartbreaking. His passion for the GC cause shines through even at the heavy cost, he could have capitulated so many times but his integrity won every time

I read it over two days - it’s an entertaining read but also sad and frustrating that so few people had his back. They wanted him to shut up, and he wouldn’t (or couldn’t) because he has a daughter he wants to fight for. And so much of his downfall was sparked by an inaccurate report in the Guardian! I’d be so bitter.

I wonder what would have happened if Graham had employed a strategy to keep quiet temporarily, get the Ted musical out of the way, and then return to his outspoken ways? It would have been too late to cancel him by then and he’d have been financially secure.

My takeaway from it is he’s an impulsive, passionate man - he’s not one to hold back, even when he can see the damage it’s causing him. I hope fans of his work will read the book to find out more about the comedies they love - and maybe, just maybe, they’ll come to understand why he holds perfectly reasonable gender-critical views, and why that’s not hateful. He’s standing up for women, gay people and vulnerable, impressionable kids who are disadvantaged by the rise of gender ideology. If trans activism didn’t impact the rights of others, he’d have had no need to criticise it.

Nicer review in Spiked

https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/10/12/tough-crowd-the-tragedy-of-graham-linehan/

Good review, but I don't see Graham's story as a 'tragedy'. It's a classic 'hero fighting for justice' story, and its not finished yet. We're just coming out of the bit of his story where the hero is at his lowest point, but still battling against the seemingly insuperable forces arraigned against him.

I honestly believe people will be laughing at Father Ted long after the whole trans nonsense is recognised as a horrific medical scandal facilitated by a collective madness among educated elites in politics, journalism and academia.

Of course that's not to say that all the other people fighting on the same side weren't as or probably more important, not least Janice Turner, and her always measured articles in the Times.

Ridiculously incompetent review from a TRA 'journalist' at The Independent.

www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graham-linehan-tough-crowd-book-trans-b2428578.html

@ummah in my fantasy future, teenagers are asked to critique what a hopeless excuse for journalism that Independent piece is.

He should be embarrassed by that article. It's steeped in gender ideology language (a massive red flag in itself) and doesn't at any point address any issues with self id - which is a large part of what Graham talks about.

He also managed to do an article (in March this year) about how great Frankie Boyle is without once even tangentially mentioning his deeply controversial (and often misogynist/rapey) jokes, strangely enough.

An article in the sidebar about a Naked Attraction contestant being injured by a 'well-endowed' man she picked from the show. Just what sort of newspaper is the Independent these days? Used to be the sort of thing only the Daily Sport would have published.

The problem with Janice Turner is it isn't a review.

It is an exercise in trying to justify what she has said in the past and what she believes.

It is NOT a review.

The Times has gone down in my estimation for publishing this self absorbed nonsense.

Made worse by finding out her personal connection.

And yes, to comment up thread. Nearly all the the UK media (well London based) is totally about who knows who, who has fallen out with who. They are self absorbed and detatched from reality.

Based on the utter lack of journalistic curiosity they've shown recently, I'd be surprised if anyone at the Guardian reads it at all.
If they do cover it, they'll just quote reactions from people who don't like him and haven't read the book either, and pass it off as a story.

I didn't know about JT's journalistic connections.

I think that if JT had written this as an opinion piece instead of a review it would have been more appropriate.

But The Times in general has been one of the most balanced newspapers in regards to transgender issues, and one of the first (if not the first) to publish what are still unfashionable views. My guess is that JT's article won't put a lot of readers off from buying Glinner's book

I find it tedious and annoying when writers use their paid for columns for personal point scoring, so Janice has gone down in my estimation.

Classic 'head girl' syndrome though.

If this is correct, I wonder if that particular claim will be retracted from Janice Turner's review?

It's on pg285 of the hardback.

Sorry, what I meant was that (having not been able to see a copy of Janice Turner's review which isn't behind a paywall), I can't say definitely whether the first bit is a direct quote or not.

It is what she said and hasn't been corrected. It has been mentioned in the comments.

Sorry, I've just checked the review through the archive link (archived 7 hours ago), seems to be a direct quote.

She's also a bit rude about those of us who still support him!

Thank you both - I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if she does retract it.

Hi all, just been pointed in this direction (thank you @theeyeballsunthesky) - this is my thread

Janice Turner puts the boot into @glinner www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4919590-janice-turner-puts-the-boot-into-at-glinner

Am really surprised by Turner's 'review'. As I said on my thread I have followed her writings on the GI debacle, and found her measured and coherent. This 'review' is not that. Disappointing.

Meanwhile, my copy arrived yesterday. Am going to dig in over the weekend.

Thanks, @BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted - that's great. Will PM you later.