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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/23/john-crace-masterpiece-nails-the-truth-of-all-addictions
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| John Crace’s masterpiece nails the truth of all addictions | John Crace’s masterpiece nails the truth of all addictions |
| (3 days later) | |
| I paused on Tuesday at lunchtime to read John Crace’s feature on Patrick Melrose and addiction, and within a beautifully swift seven minutes I had been taken seamlessly through the universal truths of all forms of addiction (Patrick Melrose and I are the lucky ones – we finally got help, 22 May). | I paused on Tuesday at lunchtime to read John Crace’s feature on Patrick Melrose and addiction, and within a beautifully swift seven minutes I had been taken seamlessly through the universal truths of all forms of addiction (Patrick Melrose and I are the lucky ones – we finally got help, 22 May). |
| I hesitate in equating the read to a narcotic-fuelled high, but in recovery terms (as a recovering addict/alcoholic myself) this wonderfully precise, cogent and razor-sharp piece articulated everything that is so critically important about the serialisation of Edward St Aubyn’s books. | I hesitate in equating the read to a narcotic-fuelled high, but in recovery terms (as a recovering addict/alcoholic myself) this wonderfully precise, cogent and razor-sharp piece articulated everything that is so critically important about the serialisation of Edward St Aubyn’s books. |
| I have heard some people asking: “Where is the relatability in this series? His mania isn’t real – he’s too posh.” And yet, as John Crace brilliantly observes, within the jaundiced and grandiose head of the addict, the surrounding world is precisely as dramatic, self-centred and in many ways as sickeningly coloured and stylised as this series suggests. | I have heard some people asking: “Where is the relatability in this series? His mania isn’t real – he’s too posh.” And yet, as John Crace brilliantly observes, within the jaundiced and grandiose head of the addict, the surrounding world is precisely as dramatic, self-centred and in many ways as sickeningly coloured and stylised as this series suggests. |
| As I finished Crace’s article I had tears in my eyes at how simply and deftly he described the lot of the addict. It reminded me of a useful quote I once heard from an actor friend when he had hit his own rock bottom: “You see, old boy, the lot of the addict is not too dissimilar to the lot of the actor – we are both, it seems, the biggest pieces of shit at the centres of our very own universes.” | As I finished Crace’s article I had tears in my eyes at how simply and deftly he described the lot of the addict. It reminded me of a useful quote I once heard from an actor friend when he had hit his own rock bottom: “You see, old boy, the lot of the addict is not too dissimilar to the lot of the actor – we are both, it seems, the biggest pieces of shit at the centres of our very own universes.” |
| I doff my cap to Benedict Cumberbatch, who brilliantly navigates this contradictory lake of self-importance coupled with self-loathing. And thank you to John Crace for explaining perfectly why it is one of the most remarkable pieces of TV in recent years.Mark AdderleyLondon | I doff my cap to Benedict Cumberbatch, who brilliantly navigates this contradictory lake of self-importance coupled with self-loathing. And thank you to John Crace for explaining perfectly why it is one of the most remarkable pieces of TV in recent years.Mark AdderleyLondon |
| • The final paragraph of this article moved me to unexpected tears. John Crace, you are a fine and unique journalist reporting regularly, as you do, from the frontline of mental illness and without a trace of self-pity. My respect and gratitude for your plodding on will be echoed by many other readers. I hope a little of that love and appreciation may get through to you.Maggie WinkworthLondon | • The final paragraph of this article moved me to unexpected tears. John Crace, you are a fine and unique journalist reporting regularly, as you do, from the frontline of mental illness and without a trace of self-pity. My respect and gratitude for your plodding on will be echoed by many other readers. I hope a little of that love and appreciation may get through to you.Maggie WinkworthLondon |
| • John Crace, known to make me laugh out loud, has just quietly presented us with a literary masterpiece. Stunning.John AirsLiverpool | • John Crace, known to make me laugh out loud, has just quietly presented us with a literary masterpiece. Stunning.John AirsLiverpool |
| The government-run website talktofrank.com (0300 123 6600) offers free, confidential advice about drugs. | The government-run website talktofrank.com (0300 123 6600) offers free, confidential advice about drugs. |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |
| Drugs | Drugs |
| Drugs policy | Drugs policy |
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Benedict Cumberbatch |
| letters | letters |
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