Me and My Brothers
£1.99
Very gripping, but rather sad - I don t agree with the reviewer who said this is the true story of what really went on . Charlie Kray spends most of the book justifying himself and moaning about how he was wrongly convicted, both in the Old Bailey trial with the twins in the 1960s, and later for his drug trafficking (in the latter case, he insists he was only joking in his taped deals with the police and he never had the wherewithal to really carry things through - if you believe that, you ll believe anything!) It always amazes me that people can write an autobiography and skirt round or duck out of the areas they don t like! Charlie is no exception. However, I found it very difficult to put this book down. It kept me gripped from beginning to end, mainly because I have read John Pearson s The Cult of Violence and it was interesting to read a different take on what really happened . John Pearson says in his book that most things Charlie Kray took on failed, and this is obvious from Me and My Brothers . One gets the impression of a rather sad individual, who would in some ways have liked things to be different, but who obviously revelled in the celebrity the Kray name afforded him, although he tries to make out it was a millstone round his neck. I would have liked to hear more about son Gary (whom I discovered from a separate source, died of AIDS related illness), and of Charlie s legitimate sources of income in his early life. A fascinating insight into the Kray legend from a different angle, and as such it was a great read, but I feel it needs to be taken with a large handful of salt.
chilling................................... - ***warning this review contains spoilers*** This book is an attempted justification of the violent way of life that the Krays lived and a twisted East End morality. The matter of fact ways in which the brothers murdered their victims brings a chill to the blood. Charlie Kray always maintained that he had nothing to do with the murders but he shares his brothers coldness being more concerned with himself. He constantly bleats on about how awful it was for him to bear the name Kray but admits that he also enjoyed the high life and the famous people that he met. Y can t have it both ways! In his last trial he was tried for trying to traffic in drugs - Charlie thought he would get off as he was only pretending to go along with the drug deal that the police had entrapped him into. He thought that the jury would realise this............ a sad tale about a man who at the end found it hard to live with himself and what he had done in his life
Sit back, relax - you will enjoy this one! - Many books can glamorise the Kray story - this book finally gives the full account of what really went on. I have read this book after listening to the taped recordings (The Kray Tapes - Right Recordings)that Robin McGibbon made with all three of the Kray brothers, Ronnnie, Reggie and Charlie, and i would reccommend these as an accompaniment to the book. I felt I was taken into their world and given a balanced but chilling insight into the highs and lows of the relationship between the twins and their older brother.This book is very carefully written and without realising you will be drawn into it further and further. In bed, I found myself going to sleep later and later as the story unfolded! I m not going to spoil it for you, but there are moments of very funny dark humour, peppered with saddness, questions of what if? - along with some very unique revelations. You won t be disappointed with this book and as mentioned earlier, consider the The Kray Tapes to get closer to the brothers and even more from book.
Don t plan anything for a few days! - There is something for everyone in this book. While the historical content will keep the Kray afficionados happy, the portrayal of the twins as the people they really were, through the eyes of a loving and protective older brother, really broadens the book s appeal. The much publicised and somewhat infamous violent episodes involving the twins are actually placed in context for once. The intricate portrayal of the three brother s personal lives, encompassing their close family ties and their complicated business activities, enable the reader to at least put the violence in context which many other publications (and most notably the film) failed to do. This is Charlie s story and is therefore from the one person who really knew. I commend you to give it a try.