Scan barcode
staciek3's review
3.0
This was good. Tori certainly has an interesting background. At times I wasn't sure where she was on her timeline, but it was fine. I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as I had hoped to, but there were some good reading recommendations that I highlighted. I did enjoy her humility as an artist whereby she wasn't saturated with her own self worth, but shared her path honestly. With much of the lyrics riddled throughout, I wish there was an audiobook version. I think that would have been a better experience for me.
twosuns's review against another edition
DNF @45%. As much as I love Tori Amos’ music, this book is all over the place. There is no clear timeline and it just seems very messy. I did enjoy reading about some of my favourite songs but that’s about it, sadly.
jennie_cole's review against another edition
3.0
Now I did not know much about Tori Amos before reading this other than I remember some of her music from the 1990s and early 2000s so this was entirely new to me. This memoir really focuses on how Tori's own experiences and those of the people she meets drive the creation of her music. Each chapter links a song and the story that drove its inception. So often it seems that people seek Tori out to tell her their own stories of struggle and pain that then fuel her. The songs she focuses on in this book are ones that stemmed from stories of oppression and survival.
This was a very different style of memoir from what you normally read. Usually they are about an overall "here is my life" in chronological order where as Tori has structured it to begin with her playing piano in a gay bar at the age of 13 to her experience for September 11th and playing in a more modern/oppressed Russia al the way to the death of her mother and getting through that.
If you are interested in more process less scandal based memoirs or want to ready about a strong female role model grab this one.
This was a very different style of memoir from what you normally read. Usually they are about an overall "here is my life" in chronological order where as Tori has structured it to begin with her playing piano in a gay bar at the age of 13 to her experience for September 11th and playing in a more modern/oppressed Russia al the way to the death of her mother and getting through that.
If you are interested in more process less scandal based memoirs or want to ready about a strong female role model grab this one.
michael__'s review against another edition
4.0
Resistance reads like the memoir Tori wanted to release all along. That’s not to say Piece by Piece didn’t offer good insight into the woman behind the music, but Ann Powers dusted that memoir with such a pretentious sheen (with chapter titles such as Sane Satyrs and Balanced Bacchantes: The Touring Life’s Gypsy Caravan…) that it’d be easy for any non-fan to easily be turned off.
Tori’s been through a lot this past year, and while I wouldn’t wish losing one’s best friend and mother within two days onto anyone, it did embolden a discernible passion into her writing. Part memoir and part call to action, Tori uses her song catalogue to guide the reader through some of America’s most cataclysmic and/or defining moments of the last few decades - 9/11, the 2016 election, etc. While she does sometimes nosedive into what the hell is she talking about territory (because hey, it’s Tori after all), it’s consistently written from a deep well of care and compassion that is genuinely her and should give those unfamiliar with her work something to appreciate as well.
Tori’s been through a lot this past year, and while I wouldn’t wish losing one’s best friend and mother within two days onto anyone, it did embolden a discernible passion into her writing. Part memoir and part call to action, Tori uses her song catalogue to guide the reader through some of America’s most cataclysmic and/or defining moments of the last few decades - 9/11, the 2016 election, etc. While she does sometimes nosedive into what the hell is she talking about territory (because hey, it’s Tori after all), it’s consistently written from a deep well of care and compassion that is genuinely her and should give those unfamiliar with her work something to appreciate as well.
nearly_empty_nesting's review against another edition
3.0
For me, I like this book as I like her music. I relate to so much in it, but it does get a bit weird. And to me, that is what makes Tori Amos, Tori Amos. I enjoyed listening to the songs as she was speaking to what inspired them- which enhanced the reading experience.
leighbeevee's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't get into this the same way I can't get into her music. It was both disjointed and pretentious.
beths0103's review against another edition
4.0
Tori Amos became the defining musical artist of my adolescence and young adulthood (This is why my piano’s name is Tori — even if she’s a Yamaha and not a Bösendorfer like Tori’s.
akooda7's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite quote from Tori Amos in this book is, “out-create destruction”.
It was a good idea to give a structured different space for the song lyrics. The format gave them a different “tone” as I read those sections.
I was surprised by the portion on the loss of her mom named “Mary”. I will never have settled thoughts on an afterlife or magic or any religious/spiritual sentiments...but the facts are - my moms name was Mary as well and she died near in time to Tori Amos’s - I picked this one book of all the books in a bookstore in Estes Park. I read it when I was, on my own, processing my own grief, on a trip that followed the same roads my mom and I traveled together, on a mom and daughter trip. (who knows) ...those are the facts.
It was a good idea to give a structured different space for the song lyrics. The format gave them a different “tone” as I read those sections.
I was surprised by the portion on the loss of her mom named “Mary”. I will never have settled thoughts on an afterlife or magic or any religious/spiritual sentiments...but the facts are - my moms name was Mary as well and she died near in time to Tori Amos’s - I picked this one book of all the books in a bookstore in Estes Park. I read it when I was, on my own, processing my own grief, on a trip that followed the same roads my mom and I traveled together, on a mom and daughter trip. (who knows) ...those are the facts.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't regularly listened to Amos' music since her heyday in the 90s and early 00s while I was in high school and college, yet felt distinctly drawn to this book. Although the end result is a little too scattered to add up to something that really packs a punch, the portions that work provide some interesting insight into to her writing process, inspirations and stances on a wide range of topics. It's amazing how several of her songs immediately came flooding back into my brain after just reading the lyrics listed before and after each passage. At the very least, this book has helped me rediscover the beauty and power of Amos' musical oeuvre.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title.