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jeffburns's review against another edition
3.0
The least revealing memoir ever. It was interesting, but it quickly became a litany of famous names and very superficial accounts of yours and album sessions. As far as personal thoughts, readers learn almost nothing.
francescaguardo's review against another edition
1.0
How is it possible to make an interesting life, in an amazing city, during one of the most interesting times, a chore? As much as I like Blondie, I’m sure from this that I’m not entirely a Debbie Harry fan. Despite her insistence she was ‘punk’ every 5 secs, I could barely remember a moment from the book where that was the case. There was a lot more chat about how beautiful she and others thought she was.
An entirely forgettable book which tells a story that would likely be far more interesting if told by literally anyone else
01/02/23: Revisiting this review (down to 1 star) after having read Viv Albertines memoir which puts this to absolute shame. If you are looking for someone who is legitimately calling themselves “punk”, I’d head over there where not only the writing is infinitely better but the stories are just far more interesting and sensitively explored. Hers is a story worth reading.
An entirely forgettable book which tells a story that would likely be far more interesting if told by literally anyone else
01/02/23: Revisiting this review (down to 1 star) after having read Viv Albertines memoir which puts this to absolute shame. If you are looking for someone who is legitimately calling themselves “punk”, I’d head over there where not only the writing is infinitely better but the stories are just far more interesting and sensitively explored. Hers is a story worth reading.
mikebarbre's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
emmaturningpages's review against another edition
3.0
I feel a bit mean giving this 3 stars. Perhaps 3.5 is more fitting. It’s an enjoyable book (I listened to the audiobook) that kept me coming back for more, eager to learn more about Debbie and Blondie.
I think it’s important to emphasise that this is Debbie Harry’s autobiography, not to be confused with Blondie’s biographical story. One reason I’m left disappointed with this book is that I felt Debbie never really fleshed out the Blondie experience which was something I was particularly keen to read about. There weren’t really any tales of their tours, their rise to fame was scantly described, and I’m still not sure why the band broke up in the 90s.
There are plenty of interesting chapters and anecdotes (though the chapter on thumbs is not one of them!) and I learned a lot about Debbie, who is someone I’ve idolised for a while. Worth a read if you’re interested in 70s/80s rock music, Debbie Harry or Blondie.
I think it’s important to emphasise that this is Debbie Harry’s autobiography, not to be confused with Blondie’s biographical story. One reason I’m left disappointed with this book is that I felt Debbie never really fleshed out the Blondie experience which was something I was particularly keen to read about. There weren’t really any tales of their tours, their rise to fame was scantly described, and I’m still not sure why the band broke up in the 90s.
There are plenty of interesting chapters and anecdotes (though the chapter on thumbs is not one of them!) and I learned a lot about Debbie, who is someone I’ve idolised for a while. Worth a read if you’re interested in 70s/80s rock music, Debbie Harry or Blondie.
es1265's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
borrowedbyaudrey's review against another edition
I’m just not as interested in the NYC music scene as I thought.
tazzbird's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
1outside's review against another edition
4.0
It took a while to get used to Debbie's style of writing - shorter sentences, up to the point, not revealing what she doesn't want to (she's punk, after all!), but once I did I ended up really enjoying the book and found it an easy read.
As someone who likes many Blondie songs but isn't a hardcore fan there was still a lot of new info in the book for me. I suppose I would have welcomed a wee bit more insight into the creation of the individual songs on the albums but I guess if I ever really needed that in the future (which is doubtful) there are probably biographies that could provide those.
Debbie is not just some poster girl for "women in rock", she's definitely a whole multi-faceted person, defying brackets and labels while still mostly operating within the blonde bombshell form. That's fascinating all on its own. (And people in some reviews bitching abt her mentioning her looks repeatedly throughout the book are, frankly, missing the point.)
I'm glad she wrote this. It's great to see her point of view as a punk: not conforming to what was proper when she was young and frankly, with her obvious resistance to being viewed as a victim (of rape, stalking, misogyny), not conforming to the most broad current mainstream feminism either.
Even if she is private (after her breakup w/ Chris you won't get to know anything about her private life in this book), she reveals enough for us to be able to view her as a true original and one of the most important and influential people in the history of popular culture.
As someone who likes many Blondie songs but isn't a hardcore fan there was still a lot of new info in the book for me. I suppose I would have welcomed a wee bit more insight into the creation of the individual songs on the albums but I guess if I ever really needed that in the future (which is doubtful) there are probably biographies that could provide those.
Debbie is not just some poster girl for "women in rock", she's definitely a whole multi-faceted person, defying brackets and labels while still mostly operating within the blonde bombshell form. That's fascinating all on its own. (And people in some reviews bitching abt her mentioning her looks repeatedly throughout the book are, frankly, missing the point.)
I'm glad she wrote this. It's great to see her point of view as a punk: not conforming to what was proper when she was young and frankly, with her obvious resistance to being viewed as a victim (of rape, stalking, misogyny), not conforming to the most broad current mainstream feminism either.
Even if she is private (after her breakup w/ Chris you won't get to know anything about her private life in this book), she reveals enough for us to be able to view her as a true original and one of the most important and influential people in the history of popular culture.