Scan barcode
moon_dude's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
It got lost in the dreams, but this is such a brilliant love letter to writing.
trin's review against another edition
2.0
Patti Smith is too cool for me, or just too self-consciously cool in general. I honestly don't know which. (¿Por qué no los dos?)
This has some beautiful writing in it, especially on the topics of aging and death, but I also found its ~dreaminess~ belabored, and in ways that rang my Paulo Coelho bullshit-o-meter. Smith actually spends a number of pages literally describing her dreams -- I use "literally" loosely, as no one's subconscious has ever actually come up with anything so perfectly symbolic -- and many of them involve a mystical wandering Mexican man. So there's that.
In essence, much of this book just made me feel like the only sober person at a party -- which everyone knows how fun that is.
This has some beautiful writing in it, especially on the topics of aging and death, but I also found its ~dreaminess~ belabored, and in ways that rang my Paulo Coelho bullshit-o-meter. Smith actually spends a number of pages literally describing her dreams -- I use "literally" loosely, as no one's subconscious has ever actually come up with anything so perfectly symbolic -- and many of them involve a mystical wandering Mexican man. So there's that.
In essence, much of this book just made me feel like the only sober person at a party -- which everyone knows how fun that is.
ellasiblik's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciate the moments where Smith reflects on her limited time left on Earth, the loss of her loved ones, and the crumbling of America. What keeps her going? I guess writing a book that reads more like a rambling journal with a few moments of clarity. Which I suppose in the intention, so it succeeds in what it set out to do. I don’t think this is a bad book, in fact, its surreal style was a novel brain exercise, but sometimes it became convoluted and tiresome. Might revisit once I am more familiar with the art referenced in the book.
ericfheiman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
It’s no Just Kids (what is, really), but a haze of melancholic grief makes it more focused and appealing than M Train.
izzylashley's review against another edition
5.0
Every Patti Smith novel I have read which currently only totals 2, has taught me the beauty in the everyday stillness of life. She somehow looks at something that many others would just walk by and turns it into art. She has mastered the skill of romanticizing the mundane. In a perfect world, I would have the opportunity to sit down with her, for a cup of coffee, and talk, maybe about her life or maybe not. The amount of experiences this woman has had is insane, she has totally taken the phrase follow your dreams literally. Something about how she moves about the world is all-encompassing and I wish I had that skill. I just love the way she looks at society and the present even through the hardship she has faced. It's poetic.