I suspect nothing is quite as exasperating as being a public figure, except perhaps having to read about the efforts of public figures to remain so. This tiresome and drawn out book, in all its ghastliness and clumsiness, pushed me to my limits a little past halfway. Not exactly because of its nauseating materialistic ethos and overt hollowness of its subjects (though this did contribute), but due to the old, stale news it harps on. Compiled by “Britain’s leading investigative biographer”, Tom Bower, as he brands himself, the book gives the impression of a saturated sponge, dripping with an unbalanced, teeth-baring vindictiveness, so much so that it leaves the reader feeling almost sympathetic towards Posh & Becks. Almost.
Bower brings up England’s unsuccessful 2010 World Cup bid, involving Beckham, for the 2018 tournament (which ended up going to Russia with Qatar selected for the 2022 competition). A series of events, widely recognised as corrupt due to a BBC’s Panorama expose on Fifa’s flawed selection process.
According to Bower, Beckham’s silence in response to the exposure of FIFA’s corruption highlighted a missed opportunity for him to take a stand. Had the world-renowned footballer publically criticised Blatter and his cohorts, Beckham would have been remembered for more than his glam appearance. However, Beckham quickly detached from the scandal. His future income from football, which was his bread and butter, was at stake and he couldn’t risk compromising it or endangering future sponsorships by falling foul of Fifa.
The book, ‘The House of Beckham’ by Tom Bower, presents a long list of allegations and veiled insults against the star couple. Yet its overbearing bias makes you almost feel sorry for them, almost.
Beckham’s indictment by Bower seems a tad much, especially given that Bower’s book of over 200 pages portrays the Beckhams as shallow egotists, overly concerned with wealth, prestige, romance, and self-preservation. Much of the book’s content, in fact, rehashes old tabloid stories that have been circulating for a while. The relentless barrage of allegations and snide comments spanning over 300 pages becomes rather grating.
It could have been more intriguing to probe into the realities of a relationship between two individuals who, by their own admission, are not the brightest yet possess a speculated fortune of £250 million. This is quite an achievement for a retired footballer and a woman who, despite her inability to lip sync in a live setting, has sold 85 million records. Instead, Bower simply re-explores the familiar seas of tabloid gossip about two superficial individuals (mostly citing newspaper snippets in his references), conjectures and data obtained from Companies House filings.
So, what’s the end result? Nothing that the Beckhams haven’t seen before, and narratives I pray never to recount. Bower’s final argument is that the Beckham’s union is purely business-oriented – but isn’t that somewhat the truth in many marriages? If there is any trace of a Faustian bargain in their lives, Bower has failed to discover it.