National Elf Service (The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange - Mark Barrowcliffe)

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange - Mark Barrowcliffe
Date:	23/10/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One or two funny moments

Disadvantages: Cynical, disrespectful and who is it aimed at?

The hoped for outcome of a writing an autobiography can vary greatly. Some people have had rich and interesting lives and believe that others should know about it. Others are more interested in cashing in and getting some wonger for a quickly written book about their limited experiences. What most have in common is the author's want to be liked. Even books that are 'warts and all' tend to be sympathetic to the writer as they try to excuse their behaviours. I am not a huge fan of the genre and do not read many memoirs etc. However what I have noticed is a strange situation were I dislike the writer by the end in almost every case. Roger Moore came across as insincere, Peter Kay as annoying and Frank Skinner as an unpleasant man I would not like to meet. In ever case the author thinks they are appealing to me, but is every case I found them unlikable. Perhaps I should read a book that is based on a life more similar to my own? An autobiography about a normal upbringing in which Role Playing Games (RPGs) played a role.

As a youth Mark Barrowcliffe was an awkward lad prone to gaffs and clumsiness. He never seemed to fit in with any group until he discovered Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). D&D is a RPG that takes place in the imagination of the players and by playing the game Mark met many like minded boys who he felt understood him. D&D is a nice hobby, but what happens when it becomes an obsession? Unable to form strong relationships with people Mark became addicted to D&D and it controlled his life. With some amusing tales and insight into a teenage boys life Barrowcliffe tells us what it is like to grow up a geek and then grow out of it.

'The Elfish Gene' is a book of two halves; one of which is a pleasant enough autobiography about someone you don't know, and the other something that undermines what you just read. When writing about his early teenage years Barrowcliffe paints a vivid picture of what it is like to grow up in 70s Coventry were life is a little grim. No wonder the imagination fuelled world of D&D seemed so seductive to a younger version of himself. There are lots of short stories about Barrowcliffe getting into mischief and showing him as a flawed chap. Surely it must be the folly of youth that had Barrowcliffe acting pretentious and arrogant? The book is all about how he grew out of this and became the successful author he is today.

Or so Barrowcliffe likes to think. The second half of the book reads like an apologist's view of their younger years. In trying to excuse his former self Barrowcliffe paints his current self as one of the most displeasing people I have ever read about. This is not the plan of course as Barrowcliffe sneers at what he used to do. He thinks he is being cool, but actually he is being nasty, distasteful, arrogant and stupid. The final chapters are by far the worst. These follow him as he leaves school and starts to gain interest in girls. At university he became a bully and picked on people weaker than himself after he had been bullied for so many years. Worse still in the epilogue that is about his current self. Now an author of lad lit he proclaims his life before this as dull and meaningless. I'm sure this will go down well with all his work colleagues for the past 10 years - the arrogance drips off the page. He was a stand up for a while and I can only imagine that his comedy was of the nasty and demeaning variety; although he probably does not realise this himself

As one final element to rub salt into the wounds Barrowcliffe ends the book by going to an adult's game of D&D. I am not saying that these men are the coolest of people, but at 40 they can do what the hell they like without having to be judged by the likes of Barrowcliffe. He rips into them and basically calls them all losers. Who is the loser? The men who may be geeks, but are happy with who they are and what they have been? Or the man that has written off 30 years of his life as pathetic?

Another issue, that is purely critical of the style and not the author, is who wants to read a book about D&D? The answer would obviously be fans of the game, but if you are going to spend 300 pages slagging them off they will not like the book. This leaves those that have not played the game. However, they too will dislike the book as there is too much minutia about the game and it will bore them to tears. From what I can see Barrowcliffe has managed to alienate all potential audiences whilst also making himself seem like an idiot. Barrowcliffe was a teenager who lived in a fantasy world and had an inflated sense of his own importance; now he is an author who lives in reality, but is still inflated.

Author: Mark Barrowcliffe
Year: 2007
Price: amazon uk - £5.98
play.com - £5.99

Summary: Barrowcliffe - thinks he's cool, but he ain't