Book Review

No cardigan enthusiast's bookshelf should be without the I-Spy Book of Cardigans (Scholastic, £19.99, 180pp, hardback). This is a sumptuously illustrated book of cardigans for the hardened cardigan enthusiast. It must be said that if you are an enthusiast you'll not fail to be hardened by this collection.

The authors have emphasised the vintage over the modern, but not ignored the cardigan revival of recent years. Collectors may wish to buy the book for its coverage of the modern, despite its limitations in that department, simply because, as the authors point out, it can't go on forever and the previous fallow period lasted for many years. There is unlikely to be such a good historical overview published in the foreseeable future.

In addition to the illustrations there are fascinating sections on cardigan etiquette (did you know, for example, that ethical cardigan wearers refuse to eat broken glass?), the history of cardigan fetishism, biographies of famous cardigan wearers and a compendium of cardigan sexual practices. There are also washing instructions for most fabrics.

By far the most interesting section, though, is the account of a period spent as the cardigan sex slave of a Basingstoke haberdasher. This gruelling saga covers years of humiliation and physical deprivation and much cardigan action. It is unclear who the actual author of this section is, but the detail leaves this reader in no doubt that the account is authentic and unembellished. The Financial Times reviewer accused this section of being little more than misery porn. This reviewer would beg to differ, having recently visited Basingstoke, it looks like quite a nice town. Without giving away too much, it can safely be said that the haberdasher had it coming to him, his premises are now occupied by a branch of Greggs. A fitting end to a sorry saga.

I hesitate to say that this is a book no self respecting cardiganwearer can do without, but really it is, there is so little otherwise to chronicle such an engaging and stimulating fetish. If you propose to read it with a friend or partner, may I suggest making sure you have plenty of lubricant.

The I Spy Book of Cardigans

That several pages of our review copy were stuck together says much for this ambitious volume; that we were unable to review those pages is a disappointment soon to be remedied when we buy our own copy. Recommended, go out and find a copy.