David Barnes reviews Tinkering: The Complete Book of John Clarke by John Clarke. Published by Text Publishing.
Because he lived in Australia for 40 years, most New Zealanders over 50 associate John Clarke with Fred Dagg, his agrarian alter ego, while many under 50 wouldn’t know who he was.
This is a shame, because the assessment of his The Games co-writer Ross Stevenson that Clarke was "the greatest satirist in the English language" is probably pretty close to the mark.
This book could be described as an anthology rather than "the complete book" (although as an anthology, some indication of when and where the material was first published would have been useful).
It spans from Fred Dagg to the recent past, with the most obvious omission being the Clarke and Dawe interviews, probably his best known work, certainly in Australia.
Some would wonder how the latter would translate from a spoken medium to text, but other selections in the book show that this simply allows the quality of the writing to come through.
The farnarkling episodes, where Clarke mercilessly rips off every cliche-laden sports commentary in any sport, are a case in point.
A series on parenting rendered as a series of industrial disputes, with the Federated Under Tens Association and the Massed Five Year Olds lined up against "management" is hilarious.
Saint Paul’s Letter to the Electorates is also top notch, although a passing knowledge of Australian politics helps.
A selection of Dagg scripts from the ’70s has dated, but only slightly. There is far more subtlety in their humour than was apparent to me as a child when they were first broadcast.
Clarke shows here that his skill as a writer extends beyond humour and satire.
An example is the poignant apology to the first Australians that featured in The Games. Actors in the show used their own names when playing characters, so when solidly built Australian actor John Howard read the apology, the joke was that some outside Australia would think he was his diminutive prime ministerial namesake.
But the apology itself reflected the view of Clarke and many others that the Australian Government’s refusal to make its own one was a travesty.
Other nominally non-humorous sections include reflections on encounters with a selection of Clarke’s sporting heroes, and his thoughts on some of his favourite authors.
Jane Austen’s inclusion in the latter list is perhaps a surprise, but the analysis is a measure of Clarke’s intellectual reach.
The entry for W. H. Auden is a particular gem.
Consider this excerpt: "Another natural history lesson includes the maxim that in polite company, you should never discuss politics, sex or religion. Auden was cleaning this theory one night when it went off. Almost everything he wrote, and he wrote about almost everything, was politics, sex or religion."
A foreword by Clarke’s daughter Lorin Clarke shows the perceptive writing gene lives on.This is not just a book for a fan; it will be enjoyed by anyone who likes good writing or a satirical skewering.
- David Barnes is a Lower Hutt-based reviewer
Win a copy
The Weekend Mix has three copies of Tinkering: The Complete Book of John Clarke, by John Clarke, to give away courtesy of Text Publishing. For your chance to win a copy, email playtime@odt.co.nz with your name and postal address in the body of the email and ‘‘Tinkering’’ in the subject line, by 5pm on Tuesday, January 30.
LAST WEEK’S WINNERS
Winners of last week’s draw, for The River of Consciousness, by Oliver Sacks, courtesy of Macmillan publishing, are: Mark Field, of Dunedin, Sue Simpson, of Balclutha, and Elizabeth McCone, of Oamaru.
