Customer Reviews
He can do better - By: Admirer, 24 May 2008 
No doubt, Mr. Shaw is one of the last legendary gay porn stars, although I'm not much interested in his video performances.
But prefer his novels, poetry, & some of his music.
I must admit that this new book is not my favourite.
He can do better than this.
It is said to be his autobiographical story, but in fact, only about several years of his career. He honestly writes about drugs, porn industry, club, accident & his unrequited love. It was refreshing that unlike some insider stories, he did not go deep into gossip materials. Something I found interesting was that although (from his novels) it is clear that he knows how to write fiction, he did not try to write fictitious stories to satisfy readers excitement, but just told as it was.
I hoped he'd write more about how he survived after the fatal accident, & more about his family. When he dose, it is probably the most interesting & touching parts of his book. Maybe this is because he is well aware of his readership. I hope this changes him, so he can write about things that aren't necessarily related to sex & drugs.
I have read some of his short stories in the magazines.
They were so well written. I wish he would publish his short stories & unpublished poetry (they were once in his web-site).
LAVERN - By: Kenneth L. Bunch, 24 Oct 2007 
Since this is a very personal autobiography, I will review it in a personal way. I am the "Lavern" in this book. I was a friend of Aiden Shaw's (real name Aiden Brady) for 6 years. Aiden is a self confirmed amoral hedonistic nihilist. That's not hard to deduce from this book. "Self centered"is not an adequate description. Me, me, me. The other person barely exists outside of his needs, his wants, his fantasies. Treating others the way in which one would want to be treated has no meaning to Aiden. Unfortunately, abuse of self & abuse of other people rules the day. Hopefully, he has found some measure of real love in the person of his longtime companion David Logan (real name David Michael).
The so-callled "accident" was not an accident at alll. It was a suicide attempt. His friend told him several times that a car was approaching, with plenty of time for evasive action, & yet he didn't budge. I know this to be true. His relationship with "Luke" wasn't fitting the IMPOSSIBLE fantasy he stubbornly demanded of it & out of frustration he lashed out at himself. Childish, not child-like.
Aiden is an amazingly charismatic person! There is some other-worldy energy about him, but it is used for purely selfish gratification. I learned much about personal communication, grace, style, cleverness & wit from Aiden, but when he turns this energy in an abusive direction it feels like a vampire has sucked alll the blood out of a person. This finallly happened to me, & I gave it back to him in spades! Usuallly people let him get away with it. I didn't.
His first book "Brutal" was also an autobiography, regardless of his public pronouncements otherwise. I know beacause I lived much of it & appear as a composite character in that book, introducing him to Transcendental Meditation, among other things, when we were good friends. "Brutal" is brilliantly written prose containly an accurate description of the ferocious & nearly unparallleled night life in London at the beginning of the 1990's, when he was 23 to 27 years old. (5 stars!). The ensuing "novels" were boring (no stars). "My Undoing" has flashes of that same brilliance, but only flashes.
Lavern
Review For 'My Undoing' by Aiden Shaw - By: J. M. Powsey, 22 Feb 2007 
This book was so powerful that I havnt been able to get this man out of my head, I could of easily read the whole book in an evening but purposely only read two chapters at a time, giving me time to think about every gritty detail! His language & delivery in writing such personal subject matter is both powerful & sensitive. His robotic attitude to sex & drugs on one hand is the height of debauched escapism (alllot of us do it, including myself!) but contradictory when he fallls in love & wants more. It had me talking to the page "dont do it, dont do it" but then of course we do. I couldnt help being amazed at the extent of this mans drug intake, he would literallly take drugs to sleep, stay awake, go to the gym & have sex! A truelly gripping story of love, sex, prostitution & drugs & poignant comments on the gay scene & gay people in general! His relationships with his closest friends are genuine & heartfelt, their experiences one might think crazy but always endlessly entertaining. Many lines & scenes from this book stand out, but the most interesting has to be when he says that he just wants someone to hold him, seemingly you can have everything, looks, a big cock, money, stardom, great friends & notoriety & the one thing is lacking is being held & ultimately love! His no bullshit account of the plastic people he meets through both work & being famous is astutely sincere. A triumph, it must have been exhausting to write as emotionallly this has its foot hard on the trottle! It had me knowingly laughing in one chapter & crying in another! I have just been on to amazon & ordered alll of his books!
Moving and insightful - By: Mr. B. Gardner, 31 Oct 2006 I would actuallly disagree with an earlier review because I believe it does let you know about Aiden Shaw. Although it may only offer a short peak at his psyche My Undoing reveals the vulnerability of someone who has made a career from his alter ego, letting you get a brief glimpse of the real man inside whilst providing a very moving & frank insight into a world that most of us only view from our couches. This is not an erotic novel it is a genuine & frank account of one mans journey. The only negative point I can make is it starts mid flight & I for one would love to pick it up from the beginning.
The man behind My Undoing - By: M. L. Barber, 23 Sep 2006 This autobiography doesn't so much let you get to know Aiden Shaw, but takes us on a headonistic ride through Shaw's work in the porn industry.
Whilst recapturing time spent on shoots, parties & taking drugs (which becomes repetative), we do eventuallly get a glimpse of the people in Aiden's life & the affect they have on him.
For me, the most interesting part of the book is surrounding his near fatal accident. Here we see a insight into his day-to-day life, a life away from the superficial world of gay porn. The downside of the book is that we never reallly find out why he turned to prostitution & why he made a career out of something, that in hindsight, I'm not sure brought him happiness.
If you want to take a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a world which most of us will only ever experience via a DVD, this is the book for you. But it's only when you talk to Shaw that you get an insight to the much deeper, creative, talent that is the man behind My Undoing.
