Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe

by Andrew O'Hagan

In November 1960, Frank Sinatra gave Marilyn Monroe a dog. His name was Maf. He had an instinct for the twentieth century. For politics. For psychoanalysis. For literature. For interior decoration. This is his story. Maf the dog was with Marilyn for the last two years of her life. Not only a picaresque hero himself, he was also a scholar of the adventuring rogue in literature and art, witnessing the rise of America's new liberalism, civil rights, the space race, the New York critics, and was Marilyn Monroe's constant companion. The story of Maf the dog is a hilarious and highly original peek into the life of a complex canine hero - he was very much a real historical figure, with his license and photographs sold at auction along with Marilyn's other person affects. Through the eyes of Maf we're provided with an insight into the life of Monroe herself, and a fascinating take on one of the most extraordinary periods of the twentieth century.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Dogs, Animals, Humor, Novels, Historical

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Andrew O'Hagan, FRSL (born 1968) is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author.

He is the author of the novels Our Fathers, Personality, and Be Near Me, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and The Guardian (UK). In 2003, O’Hagan was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. He lives in London, England.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Convoluted and confusing. I finished it but was tired.

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be filed alongside the brightest and funniest animal-narrated fiction (not a competitive field—ha, see the pun?), O’Hagan’s novel is a debonair shaggy dog story (homage to Tristram Shandy evident in the title) that concerns the exploits of a Highland pup, passed into the hands of Vita Sackville-West, Natalie Wood’s princess mother, and finally (via Frank Sinatra) Marilyn Monroe. Maf was raised a socialist in the Scottish Highlands, and is extremely au fait with European, American and Russian literature, as well as philosophy and human psychology. As he accompanies Marilyn in her final year of life, he bumps into Brooklyn rats and soup-flies with attitude problems, all the while observing Marilyn’s airy complexity and her run-ins with Sinatra, her psycho psychologist, Carson McCullers, and JFK. Told in a light but consistently amusing way with insights on Kafka, Proust and Woolf you wouldn’t expect from an Aviemore maltese, O’Hagan’s short novel is a charming and finely written comedy. Note: Monroe obsessives need not apply—this isn’t a barrel-scraping “fresh perspective.”

PS: Tara in her review has complained that this narrator is insufficiently doglike. Apparently she prefers her talking dogs to “sniff their butts” and “chase after [sic] dropped potatoe [sic] chips.” She is also upset because this talking dog used “words that I don’t know” when as we all know, most talking dog narrators should limit their vocabulary to doglike words such as “woorf” and “owf,” both one syllable, so more realistic for a talking dog. You’ve been warned!

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a biography type thing of Marilyn Monroe told from the viewpoint of a dog, a very pompous maltese that somehow manages to identify Renoir paintings and Louis XV chairs at a mere few months of age. Now, I was expecting something more along the lines of Spencer Quinn's "Dog On It," a funny book from the viewpoint of a dog that is very "dog like." I was expecting humor. Instead I get a narrative using words I don't know, much less expect my dogs to know. It was not very dog like at all. Come on, seriously, dogs sniff their butts, chase after dropped potatoe chips, catch the scent of b*tches in the wind. They do not sit around spouting poetry, using words like paucity and supercilious, and I seriously doubt they have strong feelings about the civil rights movement or Kennedy...

I think the movie will be better.

For full review and pictures, click on the link: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/...

[Sarah Furey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very pretentious book, seems to me the author was just showing off his knowledge of literature, philosophy and politics,, not that much about Marilyn's life and personality more about the dogs vast knowledge of authors, artists, philosophers and geography... really don't recommend this if your looking for an insight into Marilyn's personality very disappointing because if could have been a brilliant book if the author wasn't so focused on showing how intellectual he is.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even from his humble beginnings in an English farmhouse, Maf is a very special dog. Able to cogitate for hours on the strange proclivities of the humans surrounding him, Maf becomes the companion of one of the most famous women in all of history while still a puppy. When the mother of young ingénue Natalie Wood buys a group of dogs to give away to her favorites, she invites Frank Sinatra to pick a dog for the up and coming film actress, Marilyn Monroe. He, of course, can’t resist the little dog with the heart of gold, and as soon as Marilyn receives him, she christens him Mafia Honey, or Maf for short. As Marilyn glides through her glamorous life, Maf begins to see the fragile and scared woman behind the facade, and as he converses with all the other animals around him, an unflinching picture of the famous personalities that surround him begins to emerge. Rich in philosophical and moral discourse, The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog is a surprisingly rich and nuanced peek into the lives of some of the most public faces of the 50’s and 60’s. As Maf shares his deepest and most personal reflections on them, the never before seen world around these once bright and burning stars is expertly revealed.

I have to say this book was hit and miss for me. While I do think the storyline was unique and the perspective original, sometimes the execution left me a little cold. I think the main problem was that there was a lot of name dropping, and while that normally doesn’t bother me, the names being dropped were stars, philosophers and artists whom I knew very little about. This isn’t really a criticism, because I think readers who are more familiar with the personalities of this time would really enjoy the book, and I’m sure readers who are more at home in the world of philosophy would find it entertaining as well. As it was, the book went a little over my head, though there were some really wonderful and astute aspects about this particular story.

First off, the book being written from Maf’s perspective was a very clever device. He was able to see and hear everything and make his own very intelligent appraisals about it all without the those around him (other than the animals) hearing him. This gave the story an almost confidential and secretive feel, because the opinions of Maf were never motivating factors of the book. He was able to see and detect things that eluded his human counterparts, and he was quickly able to assess a situation and draw some very penetrating conclusions that remained locked between the reader and himself. He was sometimes fond of pontificating and had little time for those who were menacing to his owner, particularly Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was not graciously served in this book. He was, in effect, a bully and a ball-buster who used his star power and angry charisma to insert himself into politics and also a spoiled man whom no one thought to check or correct. Maf saw him as insensitive and brutish, an ego-driven and spoiled man with dark forces ready to do his bidding.

Maf’s reflections on Marilyn were also very telling. she was portrayed as very witty and charming but overly naïve when it came to the people around her. The best way I can describe her character was lost and easily swayed. Her drive to be taken seriously and to appear glamorous and high functioning was, in effect, one of her most fatal flaws. Maf doesn’t go into detail about her frightening spiral into the world of drugs or her stints on the casting couch, and surprisingly, the book ends before her untimely and tragic death. From the vantage point we have, Marilyn is reflected with love and is truly endowed with the gravity she deserves.

Another pertinent point is Maf’s observations of the animal world. He speaks at length about his own interpretations on the anthropomorphism animals and of the philosophers that have espoused the same sentiments. A lot of these explanations were interesting to read but went somewhat over my head, though they were grounded in fact. The amalgamation of all of these elements were sometimes portentous and at other times candidly funny, but I had trouble with the immense weight of the implications made by the narrative.

Though this book didn’t entirely work for me in all the areas it explored, I still think it was a very revealing read, and in most ways successful. I think readers of a certain generation would get a lot from this story, and even I had no trouble falling in love with little Maf. I appreciated the creativity and candor of this book immensely, and feel that although it tried to accomplish a lot within a relatively small space, it was clearly a book that made me think differently, not only about the animal world, but about some of the foremost legends in cinema history. A challenging and reflective read.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just a slog to get through. I finished it to finish it but this was a tedious book.

[Mai Laakso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glasgowissa syntynyt nykyisin Lontoossa asuva Andrew O´Haganin Maf-koira ja hänen ystävänsä Marilyn Monroe on kirjailijan neljäs romaani ja toinen, joka on suomennettu. Maf-koira ja hänen ystävänsä Marilyn Monroe teoksen kansikuva on todella kaunis, mutta eihän Maf-koirasta nyt huonoa kuvaa saisi otettuakaan, eikä sen puoleen Marilynistäkään.
Kirja on kuvitteellinen teos ja kertoo Maf-koiran ajatuksista, aikamoinen filosofi ja pohdiskelija tämä pieni veijari oli. Andrew O´Hagan on luonut todella ajattelevaisen, mutta koiramaisen ja siten myöskin koiramaisesti käyttäytyvän kirjansa päähenkilön.
Kaikkihan alkoi siitä, että Frank Sinatra halusi lahjoittaa Marilyn Monroelle koiranpennun, koska Marilyn oli masentunut erottuaan miehestään Arthur Milleristä. Kirjan tapahtumat sijoittuivat 60-luvulle, Marilynin viimeisimpiin vaiheisiin.
Kirja yllätti minut syvällisyydellään ja tapahtumarikkailla elokuva- ja kulttuurimaailman sekä tuon ajan poliittisen ilmapiirin kuvauksillaan, joita on ehkä ollut helpompi kuvata koiran näkökulmasta tarkasteltuna kuin puhtaasti henkilöhahmojen näkökulmasta tarkasteltuna. Kirja on huumorintajuinen, mutta tuo esille Marilynin masentumisen ja lääkkeiden käytön. Emme unohda Marilyniä koskaan ja tämä teos vahvistaa vielä muistojamme tästä maailmankuulusta näyttelijästä, joka kuoli aivan liian nuorena.

[Diana S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maf is Marilyn Monroe's pet given to her by Frank Sinatra. And what a life they lived! Not only do you get a glimpse of Marilyn's personal life. But also, the ins and outs of Hollywood and some details of the Kennedy clan. All through the observations of this smart little dog. I give this book 3.5 stars***!

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Mr. O'Hagan but it won't be the last - an utterly charming book, fun, witty and, even if you are like me - not an animal lover - I am sure you will like and enjoy this book. I know that the title might make those of a more sensitive or cynical nature turn away from it but really I can only saw that it was a great surprise and greatly enjoyed.

[Lauriina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Keski-kirjastojen lukuhaaste 2019, kohta 15: Kirjassa on joku eläin. Ensimmäistä kertaa uskallan antaa yhden tähden. Nytkin meinasin antaa kaksi tähteä, koska ehkä tässä kirjassa kuitenkin jotain oli, mistä tykkäsinkin. Mutta pääasiassa tämä kirja ei kyllä yhtään napannut, ja meinasin jo jättää kesken. Eikä se siitä missään vaiheessa kääntynyt parempaan, joten olisi voinut jättääkin. Asetelma oli hyvä ja mielenkiintoinen, koira kertojana, tunnetut henkilöt, jne. Mutta en oikein missään vaiheessa päässyt tarinaan mukaan. Kirjassa oli paljon filosofisia keskusteluja ja viittauksia muihin teoksiin ja historian henkilöihin, lainauksia muista teoksista, runoja, yms. Kovin selkeää juonta ei ollut, vaan kirja vain seurasi Marilynia ja Maf-koiraa paikasta toiseen. Ehkä pitäisi tuntea paremmin historiallinen konteksti ja nuo viittaukset, jotta saisi kirjasta enemmän irti.

[books_by_brunette · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

[Marisa Vestita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poteva essere una bella idea. Purtroppo la narrazione non è convincente.

[ulli_z · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy, someone did fail gloriously here! I am OK with dogs knowing all human thoughts, feelings and innermost character, even some wisecracks about literature and philosophy out of their barking mouths would be perfectly in order, but here this strategy is simply overdone. Maf the Dog quickly morphs into a sorry excuse for employing an omniscient first-person narrator (which perhaps would be rejected today, while dog narrators obviously have carte blanche), even though he is not even omniscient, but just an insupportable knows-it-all. Not that I'd be averse to being edified, informed or enlightened, regardless of the source of knowledge provided, but somehow this doesn't happen - all those morsels of wisdom make for a bland and incongruous intellectual diet. Maf, by the way, is fittingly colour-blind, but for some reason his sense of smell is just human. When someone takes off his shoes at a party, he even manages to determine that "they smell of nothing at all", which is so un-doggish it sent me screaming. Before this disappointing backdrop the reader wonders whether there is any substance to the character O'Hagan gives his famous personages of the American sixties, especially where we would be most interested, namely in Marilyn's case, who is portrayed with care, but still not all too convincingly. *spoiler* Where, please, lies the wisdom in denying any intimate relationship between her and JFK, while sending her tumbling in the bushes with a new acquaintance at a party, presumably just because "There's nothing wrong with sex," as she later says – is this just to show that by this time she is already seriously emotionally damaged? A dog who had known her mind so intimately as O'Hagan claims Maf does, could have done better than presenting this scene so totally out of context.

[Mike Gibas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why so many people hate this book as it shares its learnedness and intellectual prowess quite unashamedly. The narrator is a dog, but a dog infused with a fine brain who talks of art and philosophy and history with quite an arrogance and he endlessly compares the life of his owner, Marilyn Monroe, to the big philosophical questions raised by artist, poets, and scholars throughout the ages. However, while our narrator sometimes crawls right up his own arse, he is quite likeable and quite cheeky, and the world he builds — where reincarnation is real; where dogs speak in prose and cats speak in poetry — is a world of wonder and excitement. The book works when Maf interacts with other animals — Bronx-accented flies for example — or when he details and observes scenes between Marilyn and friends like Frank Sinatra. In those moments the book is witty, perceptive, and very funny. Sometimes, the endless chat about philosophy gets to be as funny as a pub bore. But, on the whole, the book elicited more laughs and more "wows" than it was annoying. 3.5 stars and almost a 4-star, I'd say. I would point out I listened to the audiobook which benefits from an immense vocal performance — reading this, I suspect, could be a bit of a drag.

[Jason Lavoie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, bound and printed in the United States of Russia, was financially supported by the Government of Canada (Connie Harper) and the Government of Ontario (Libby McSquinty).

I’m all for the Federal and Provincial Government supporting the arts but why an author born in Glasgow and living in London, England?! And to write a story about a Maltese dog and his life in America with American actress, Marilyn Monroe, detailing the arts and films of America in that time period, makes little logical sense to me.

Why not a Newfoundland dog and his life with a Canadian legend like Anne Murray? Instead of Frank Sinatra gifting the dog to Marilyn, it could have been Ernie Coombs – American born but still a Canadian icon – gifting the dog to Anne Murray.

I wanted to DNF this book multiple times. The chapters were too long and I didn’t find that there was any story to this novel. It was like reading a Bret Easton Ellis book but with better writing, grammar, and punctuation. It was just as banal and pretentious.

"‘There’s something you ought to know, Maf Honey,’ she said. ‘And that is that animals do not go to heaven.’"

Fucking bullshit! If animals don’t go to heaven, then heaven I don’t want to go.

[Mary Eve · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have only five things to say about this book...SO GLAD I AM FINISHED!!!!!!

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once you suspend your disbelief that a dog would intimately know the life and times of Carson McCullers, and Truman Capote, and have opinions about Natalie Wood, Frank Sinatra, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, whilst communicating intelligent thoughts in an erudite fashion, and every other dog he meets feels the same way, then this book could be for you.

Maf was a rescue dog that was given to Marilyn Monroe by Frank Sinatra. He has a storied life before this, being housed for a while with the parents of Natalie Wood, but then gets a front-row seat to some of the most happening events in the worlds of film and literature in the 1950s and 1960s.

We see what has been happening in the world from the rarefied status of Marilyn Monroe, and her visitors and social milieu, which included the Kennedy Brothers. A lot of research has gone into the book, making sure that historically things that are mentioned could have happened, and the conversations that Maf has with other dogs have their moments of both wit and pathos.

However, as history has proved, we all know how it all ends, and the story-telling ability that Andrew O’Hagan has proved in books such as The Missing and Our Fathers serves him well in a book that could have drowned underneath its own whimsy.

[Kaj Roihio]

Toisen maailmansodan jälkeisessä Amerikassa tapahtui valtava kulttuurinen myllerrys. Elokuva, teatteri, kirjallisuus, musiikki, maalaustaide, kaikki meni enemmän tai vähemmän uusiksi. Tätä vallankumousta tarkkailee Marilyn Monroen trotskilainen sylikoira Maf (koko nimeltään Mafia Honey, lahja Frank Sinatralta), harvinaisen älykäs ja valistunut lemmikkieläin. Andrew O'Hagan kuljettaa lukijansa Uuden Mantereen koko kulttuurielämän läpi aina Meksikoon saakka elokuvahistorian traagisimman seksisymbolin sylissä eikä nainen, jota ei koskaan otettu vakavasti, koskaan lakannut yrittämästä.
Kirjan läpi vilisee 50- ja 60-lukujen taitteen nimiä sillä vauhdilla, että pohjatietämys on välttämätön, muuten tämä menee hukkaan. Joitain antiikin näytelmäkirjailijoitakin tulee vastaan (sekä toistuvasti Karamazovin veljekset tai Dostojevski noin yleensä), joten tämä on kirja lukijoille, vaikkakin hyvin kepeä sellainen. O'Hagan kirjoittaa hyvin eikä voi kuin kehua herraa omalaatuisesta ideasta. Enpäs tiennytkään, että kirjallisuus- ja elokuvahistoriassa on ollut niin paljon koiria.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarre but brilliant

An account of the last part of Marilyn Monroe's life from the point of view of her dog Maf (short for Mafia) - given to her by Frank Sinatra. I loved the humour and darkness rolled into the narrative of this book - the unexpected philosophical conversations with other animals; the opinions on politics and celebrity; the frustrations of Maf, who knows he is so much more intelligent than those around him, but cannot make himself heard! I'm not a big animal person, and genuinely didn't think I'd enjoy a book from the perspective of an animal quite so much.... aside from 'Charlotte's Web'!

Highly recommended!!

[Celestine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pettymysten pettymys! Odotin todella paljon tältä kirjalta, mutta se ei tosiaankaan lunastanut odotuksia. Marilyn jäi todella etäiseksi hahmoksi. Siitä huolimatta että Maf on teoksen päähenkilö, olisin kuitenkin toivonut Marilynin saavan enemmän tilaa kirjan sivuilla. Lisäksi Marilynin kuvauksesta tuli vähän väliä mieleen median luoma kuva typerästä blondista, ja hänen laaja sivistyksensä ja älykkyyteensä vaikuttaa tämän kirjan perusteella pelkältä kulissilta. Maf on melkoisen rasittava päähenkilö, ja kerronta on myös raskasta kaikkine filosofia- ja politiikkapohdintoineen. Ihan harmittaa, että kirja ei käyttänyt potentiaalia, jota sillä oli.

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mafia Honey was a white Maltese terrier given to Marilyn Monroe by Frank Sinatra in 1960. He was with her during the last two years of her life, in New York and LA. This novel tells the story from Maf's point of view. [I pronounced it Moff, as in Mafia, although it looks like Maf with a short "a."] He is feisty, philosophical, intellectual and often snarky (like the author?) and hobnobs with the literati of the times. He also knows every dog story, in literature and in Hollywood, and in one chapter ranks his Top Ten Dogs of All Time. I wanted to like this book more than I did, because I'm always interested in Marilyn. But here, her tragic life is overshadowed by her erudite dog.

[Anna Hokkinen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tarinan asetelma oli lupaava: Marilynin viimeiset ajat hänen koiransa näkökulmasta. Toteutus oli kuitenkin sekava ja loppu valui käsistä. Pidin kirjassa osasta kirjallisuus- ja elokuvaviittauksista, mutta koirien filosofiset pohdinnat olivat kyllä omituisen päälleliimattuja. Tyytyväisin ehkä kaikesta huolimatta siihen, että tartuin minulle entuudestaan tuntemattoman kirjailijan kirjaan ja lähdin kirjaseikkailulle

[Anneli Renfors · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ei mikään elämäni kirja, en jaksanut innostua yhtään. Hyvä kun sain kidutettua itseäni tarpeeksi, että pystyin lukemaan kirjan loppuun. Filosofian perusteellisesti tuntevat koirat ja sössöttävät kissat olivat minulle ihan liikaa. Sen sijaan ihan mielenkiintoista oli kuvitteelliset tarinat Hollywoodin supertähdistä: Frank Sinatrasta, George Cukorista, Natalie Woodista ja monista muista - ja totta kai Marilyn Monroesta.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favourites both as a fiction lover and a big Marilyn fan. An eccentric, quirky and philosophical tale full of wonder and joy breaths life and meaning into the dismal exploitative Marilyn myths and makes you look at the world in a new light. If you are looking for a conventional narrative you might want to skip this. If you are looking for an ambitious and fresh work of fiction to lift your spirits, look no further.

[Saf · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are looking for a good book about Marilyn Monroe, this isn’t it! Rather than focusing on Marilyn, the author chose to try to prove how oh so literate and intelligent he is. His ramblings about Freud, Trotsky and others come across as self aggrandizing and pompous, and add absolutely nothing to the story. That someone can take a subject as captivating as Marilyn Monroe into boring claptrap is hard to believe. I struggled mightily to finish this book.

[Sam Romilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

So refreshing to read an intelligent witty and fun book. From the perspective of a Maltese white dog we listen in to the conversations of the great such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe - as they really were (perhaps).

It does not attempt to solve any mysteries or come up with new theories of what happened - it is just a pleasant journey from start to finish.

[Steph Schleicher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretentious

The conceit of using a dog’s POV was completely muddled by the off-tone philosophical literary spewing of random ideas. Lacks cohesion, and was mostly a novel of name dropping while licking at the heels of Marilyn Monroe. Nonsensical intellectualism that thinks rather highly of itself. Reminded me of the the very worst of literary criticism.

[Faiza Sattar · Rating 1 out of 5]

★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

One of the most tedious books I’ve had the misfortune of reading, “The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog” by Andrew O’Hagan is told from the perspective of Marilyn Monroe’s beloved dog. As a socialist and Trotskyist, Maf short for Mafia Honey, is a bichon maltais presented to Marilyn Monroe by Frank Sinatra shortly before her death. The pooch with his insight and absurd humor portrays the life of a troubled Hollywood star in 60’s, commenting on general environment of America in Kennedy’s era.

The dog is well-versed in arts of philosophy and literature, history and politics. He has an acute sense of understanding human motivations and can decipher their thoughts well before they are manifested physically. Maf is deliberately crafted as a comical yet reliable narrator through whose lens we witness the tragedy of American culture. His aphorisms are amusing and philosophical, but which failed to make a mark on me as a neutral reader with no strong affiliations with the history of Hollywood.

The book is written in stylistic prose, typical of Americanism, doused with Hollywood references which completely evaded me. Which begs the question: who is this book really intended for? The writer failed to inspire in me even the faintest of concerns for Monroe and her ordeals. Other characters like Natalie Wood, Frank Sinatra, Monroe’s therapists seemed more or less to be mere caricatures of their real selves which once again relinquished my interest in what could have been a more wholesome portrayal. I was untroubled by their associations and personal issues that ailed them. As a reader, I knew a certain kind of fame was attached to these names but that was the extent of identifying them with glamour and Hollywood. I never cared for Monroe’s life, and having read this book, my stance remains unchanged.

Wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, save those with considerable interest in the life a deeply troubled megastar whose name became a brand in itself in later years, symbolic of either the nostalgic image of what a woman was or should be, mental illness and suicide, or convoluted feminism.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third star is for the clear intelligence of the author and the (too few) flashes of good fiction (the scene in the art gallery, e.g.). But the book is tedious. Tedious enough that it left me without the energy or will to offer my thoughts on what O'Hagan seems (to me) to be up to.

[Nicki4144 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst I could see the premise this was simply too difficult a read for me, crammed full as it is of literary and other references too complex for me. Despite that sone excellent bits and worth a read so still 3 stars. Nick