Here we have him, the unadulterated David Norris. A Kick Against The Pricks presents a warts and all account from cradle to the grave, beginning with Norris’s birth in Africa, and ending with some unsurprisingly eccentric and, one feels, not entirely tongue-in-cheek, plans for his own funeral, spanning one of the most controversial political careers in Ireland. Certainly Norris has long been a mainstay amongst the headlines for his work within the gay rights movement, yet what often goes unremarked upon is that this work, though obviously of personal significance to Norris, is part of a much greater moral framework, concerning civil rights as a whole, which he has so often fought to promote and/or defend. Certainly, it was this strong moral compass that could have won him the election. His examination of running for President, and the subsequent media (or ‘meeja’ as Norris would have it) war waged against him, could so easily have come across as little more than the embittered account of a man regularly embraced, and then hung out to dry by the press. But this simply is not the case, and though there are some strong words about the state of Irish journalism, what really comes out is the high regard in which Norris continues to hold those around him, in particular, his rival presidential candidate, Michael D, who Norris speaks so highly of.
Of course, at times it reads in that jovial, slightly self-involved way one might expect of the classically vociferous Norris, but it is self-congratulatory only to the same extent that it is self-deprecating, and certainly never errs on the side of smugness. Norris is a man proud of his achievements, sure, but nonetheless remorseful about his mistakes. What plays out then, is not just The David Norris Show, but something much more profound, and though he seeks to set the more tempestuous aspects of his career straight, it’s not the usual bleating series of excuses (or worse still, apologies) that one sometimes finds in a political memoir.
In all honesty though, regardless of the book being a remarkably candid account of a long and fruitful career, it’s good fun. Norris is on flying form, eloquent and engaging as ever. Even more than that, A Kick Against the Pricks should serve to silence the naysayers once and for all.
Of course, at times it reads in that jovial, slightly self-involved way one might expect of the classically vociferous Norris, but it is self-congratulatory only to the same extent that it is self-deprecating, and certainly never errs on the side of smugness. Norris is a man proud of his achievements, sure, but nonetheless remorseful about his mistakes. What plays out then, is not just The David Norris Show, but something much more profound, and though he seeks to set the more tempestuous aspects of his career straight, it’s not the usual bleating series of excuses (or worse still, apologies) that one sometimes finds in a political memoir.
In all honesty though, regardless of the book being a remarkably candid account of a long and fruitful career, it’s good fun. Norris is on flying form, eloquent and engaging as ever. Even more than that, A Kick Against the Pricks should serve to silence the naysayers once and for all.
