Bits of Me Are Falling Apart

by William Leith

One morning in August 2007, William Leith wakes up and realises that something is wrong. He is not in a bed, but on an old mattress on the floor. He is not in a house. He is in his office. He is alone. He no longer lives with his little boy and the mother of his little boy. Mentally, he is at the end of his tether. Physically, he is fraying at the edges. Bits of him are falling apart. But then again, so is everything else - the economy, the environment, the very fabric of society.With his trademark darkly humorous mix of personal story and social commentary, Leith attempts to answer the question: is everything really falling apart? Or is it just him? He examines the ageing process in humans, and in everything else as well, from the universe to the banking system. And he comes to realise that, even if he can't solve the problems of the world, at least he has a thorough understanding of failure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Joe Mahoney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would debate the author's assertion that in his mid-forties he's old (I'm in my fifties and don't quite feel old yet) but perhaps he's led a rougher life than I have. All told, an entertaining read, filled with all sorts of interesting little tidbits of information. Quite well written. A little on the bleak side considering its subject matter, but I enjoyed this honest, personal, and frequently amusing book.

[Meg]

Listen, sometimes you read a book about a sad sack middle aged man who thinks a lot and maybe isn't so good at some life stuff.

[Elayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book - possibly more for the 'boys' than the 'girls' as they may empathise more.
That said, very interesting collection of random thoughts well written into a rather short story of his day or his current - rather depressing life.
You could argue that a; he deserves to fall apart after the life he has led b; that he really should go to a doctor as the bits that are falling apart could be serious - but c; he is a coward, and d; perhaps his health is so bad that he is going to die young so why bother?
So only read this if you don't mind being made somewhat depressed about the state of society and the world. And not if you are a hypochondriac - which of course, the author might be, but I doubt it. Certainly not an upbeat book!

[Christopher Nye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just reread this 3 years after reading it the first time, and now at the same age as Leith was then. While I enjoyed it the first time, I absolutely loved it this time. It's frequently hilarious and genuinely interesting on topics as diverse as James Dean's last thoughts or how Samoans found Easter Island, or how Nelson climbed up a ship with only one arm, to the banking crisis, to house prices, to the aging process and the basic stuff about how and why we are here...

There are more quotable lines that any book I've read recently (my girlfriend is sick of me quoting them) and it has the best lack-of-money anecdotes I've ever read. It also covers the feelings of being a middle-aged father to an only child beautifully and movingly. I love this book

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2567164.html

A short, somewhat grim account of being a middle aged man and feeling that life has completely passed you by. I'm classifying it as non-fiction because it's presented as a memoir. Some of the observations were uncomfortably close to home, but in general I felt I'd had a better life than the writer and wasn't learning much from this. It's well written, though, the account of the circumstances around his son's conception being especially gripping.

[Karis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing much happens in this book. Guy gets up, and muses about his life, health, financial situation, wasted opportunities, and on the way touches on the Big Bang Theory (not the tv program), Horatio Nelson (whatadude), the origins of banking, what happened to the Easter Islanders and the Nords amongst other things.
Like a snapshot into the internal dialogue of someones brain. I loved this book.

[Kieran Telo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially I found this too solipsistic, and not very original, but I'm glad I stuck with it because William Leith's tale of the everyday tragedy of our culture of affluence and waste gathers force the more he digresses from the personal to the political. he makes some telling points. It's very well written, occasionally hilarious, and I liked the way the text is structured.

[Candy kang · Rating 2 out of 5]

nope ... he aint jeremy clarkson.

[Beckah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super depressing. Not what I was looking for in a book. Read about a quarter and couldn't do it. So boring.