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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
In a book meant to be focused on Freddie Mercury, his life, his music, and his lasting impression on the world, it is my opinion that the author spends far too much time writing about the history of AIDS; the book starts with AIDS, half of the writing remains centered on it, and he specifically writes, "However much it might not be palatable to most fans, it is impossible to write about Freddie without the story of his HIV and AIDS. It was, and would be more so after his death, a defining aspect of what he was" (445). While, obviously, this disease was a major part of his life, leading to his death, I wanted this book to be more about his life as an artist, his relationship with his band-mates, and the lasting impact of his music. It felt that the author insisted to hyper-focus on his sexuality and disease, going so far as to insert his own theories regarding analysis of lyrics and style/life choices and presenting those theories as facts.
While I did learn quite a bit about a band that I have come to appreciate and admire, this book was rather disappointing overall.
While I did learn quite a bit about a band that I have come to appreciate and admire, this book was rather disappointing overall.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I nearly passed over this book since I have been studying Queen and Freddie Mercury for most of my life and I didn't figure there was anything else I needed to know. When I realized this book is also a history of the AIDS epidemic, I was more interested and decided to give it a try.
As a biography of Freddie Mercury, this book is a mess. The timeline is all over the place, the details are often contradictory, it is annoyingly repetitive and there is way too much supposing. Furthermore, it treats the rest of the band like second-class citizens (at best) and that is absolutely unacceptable for me. And, the analysis of the lyrics of certain songs was really obnoxious.
As a book about AIDS, it might be fascinating if it is, in fact, accurate. There are so many inaccuracies in the rest of the book, though, that I can't actually be confident about that.
Let's take Pillow Talk, for example. Rock Hudson's character did not pretend to be gay in order to get closer to Doris Day's character. There is one scene where he's messing with her. It's hilarious, but it's just one little scene. I could, very easily, explain the entire plot of Pillow Talk, but the best thing I can do is to recommend it very highly. It's funny. It's adorable. It's a personal favorite.
In summary, skip the book, watch Pillow talk and listen to a lot of Queen.
As a biography of Freddie Mercury, this book is a mess. The timeline is all over the place, the details are often contradictory, it is annoyingly repetitive and there is way too much supposing. Furthermore, it treats the rest of the band like second-class citizens (at best) and that is absolutely unacceptable for me. And, the analysis of the lyrics of certain songs was really obnoxious.
As a book about AIDS, it might be fascinating if it is, in fact, accurate. There are so many inaccuracies in the rest of the book, though, that I can't actually be confident about that.
Let's take Pillow Talk, for example. Rock Hudson's character did not pretend to be gay in order to get closer to Doris Day's character. There is one scene where he's messing with her. It's hilarious, but it's just one little scene. I could, very easily, explain the entire plot of Pillow Talk, but the best thing I can do is to recommend it very highly. It's funny. It's adorable. It's a personal favorite.
In summary, skip the book, watch Pillow talk and listen to a lot of Queen.
Started this months ago and only came back to it recently. Was glad I came back.
I would say "Man, fuck that guy that went and got bit by a chimpanzee" but NO. AIDS exists because people DID fuck that guy.
I was surprised by how in depth this was not only on Mercury's life (duh, Kelly, this is a biography) but on a history of HIV/AIDS. While this took me forever to get through, I feel like I got a lot out of it. I'm only knocking off a star because at times it felt like Mercury's sexual orientation was being exploited. I don't need to know how much sex he had multiple times for many chapters. I really don't want you to tell me why you think he seduced male partners.
I was surprised by how in depth this was not only on Mercury's life (duh, Kelly, this is a biography) but on a history of HIV/AIDS. While this took me forever to get through, I feel like I got a lot out of it. I'm only knocking off a star because at times it felt like Mercury's sexual orientation was being exploited. I don't need to know how much sex he had multiple times for many chapters. I really don't want you to tell me why you think he seduced male partners.
Did not finish this book.
Made it to a bit after when Freddie joins the band that would become Queen before giving up. The racism and homophobia of the writing was just too much.
Made it to a bit after when Freddie joins the band that would become Queen before giving up. The racism and homophobia of the writing was just too much.
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
This was one of these books that I could not put down. It also brought back so many memories of growing up. I will never forget watching Queen perform at Live Aid sitting behind my TV on a warm summer day. And I was already a fan. But as much as Freddie's story I loved the interwoven chapters on the AIDS epidemic. It is hard to understand these days how little we knew in the late eighties and what a scary world it was. But also on how badly homosexual people were treated then, there was so much fear. I think AIDS was the first cause that I gave money to as a grown up. It is so touching to read how someone had to live with the fear and the pain for so many years without being able to tell almost anybody. It is a great testament to the eighties.
An eye-opening history of HIV/AIDS superimposed over an irresistible biography of Freddie Mercury.