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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
For a Freddie Mercury biography, it’s not bad. I think the chapters on the history of HIV/AIDS, while an interesting read, veered on sounding salacious instead of educational.
I've been a Queen fan since I was a tot. I remember my dad and I sitting around listening to their greatest hits albums. It's a nostalgia thing for me. But I didn't know much about Mercury - he'd pass away when I was 6 years old and not only did I not know who he was but his illness meant very little to me because you know...I was 6. I'm glad I finally got around to reading about Freddie and his life.
Not only does this book delve into Mercury's life but it is sprinkled in with chapters discussing the AIDS epidemic. I enjoyed the back and forth and the further information on the epidemic - it would obviously play an important part in Mercury's story. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did great. I think my main qualm is the author seems to focus a bit much on Freddie being gay. It's good information to know how the singer struggled so much with his homosexuality in a time where prejudices were high and the need to keep it secret was often necessary for safety reasons. But there were times where the author makes it seem like being gay was Freddie's whole life, his only focus, the everything. And I think he, along with all other humans, would want to be remembered for more than their sexuality. If somehow you missed the memo that Mercury was gay, don't worry, the author will remind you on every other page. But otherwise, an informative look into this amazing singer.
Not only does this book delve into Mercury's life but it is sprinkled in with chapters discussing the AIDS epidemic. I enjoyed the back and forth and the further information on the epidemic - it would obviously play an important part in Mercury's story. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did great. I think my main qualm is the author seems to focus a bit much on Freddie being gay. It's good information to know how the singer struggled so much with his homosexuality in a time where prejudices were high and the need to keep it secret was often necessary for safety reasons. But there were times where the author makes it seem like being gay was Freddie's whole life, his only focus, the everything. And I think he, along with all other humans, would want to be remembered for more than their sexuality. If somehow you missed the memo that Mercury was gay, don't worry, the author will remind you on every other page. But otherwise, an informative look into this amazing singer.
A very well written and well researched biography. Freddie Mercury and Queen are personal favorites of mine, so getting to take a deep dive into one of rock and roll’s most complex and fascinating characters was a real treat. What made this particularly good for me was the focus on AIDS. While it wasn’t by any means the only important takeaway from Mercury’s life, his sexuality and his contraction of HIV/AIDS During that disease’s greatest time of crisis can’t be overlooked. The book does a phenomenal job of describing the history of the virus, how it arrived in America, the context which allowed it to spread, and our sad, ignorant, and underwhelming response to its appearance as an epidemic.
After going to see Bohemian Rhapsody in the cinema, my interest in Queen and Freddie Mercury was really sparked. As my dad is a Queen superfan I remembered he had this book and delved straight into the complicated but fascinating story of Freddie Mercury.
One of my most favourite things about the way his story was told was all the background information that was given on the history and rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not only did it shed light on a topic that I relatively knew little about, but it also helped in categorising Freddie as one of the millions who suffered from the disease and wasn't just a stand-alone case. As a result, the rapid and vast rise of this illness was really emphasized. It also drew on the huge irony and misfortune that came from one batch of infected blood, and some one hundred years or so ended up killing a legend. This explanation was also laid out really clearly and concisely so I could actually understand what was going on, no scientific lingo here!
While obviously, the majority of the book was on Freddie, I really appreciated the detail that was given to other people that were part of his life. While he's often been painted as something of a solitary character, it was nice reading that he had a close inner circle of friends on which he depended. The use of direct quotations from interviews, I found to be really enlightening and helped fill some apparent gaps that were left within some of the events, either from Brian, Roger or John or friends and family. Great attention to detail was given on little anecdotes or minor details. The one that brings a particularly large lump in my throat was when Jim Hutton placed a teddy bear inside Freddie's body bag, a touching and heartbreaking sentiment for any individual who was a Queen or Freddie fan.
I also really liked how the book was categorised almost into different Queen albums, chronologically. Not only did it help build a picture of what the band's success over a seriously lengthy amount of time looked like but also gave a really personal (or as personal as it could have been) account of the members as human beings, and not just rock gods.
The deeper I got into this book, the more it read like a thriller, with the constant shadow of an hourglass pouring and the painful reminder of human mortality. The last quarter of the book was where the writing really shines through. In short the last few accounts of how he spent his final days really offered a lens into how complex of a character he was. The idea of him in his bedroom, contemplating how large garden lodge was is a thought that really resonates with me, the insignificance of it all.
All in all, an incredibly interesting but also moving accounts on one of the most iconic individuals to have ever lived. Would definitely recommend.
One of my most favourite things about the way his story was told was all the background information that was given on the history and rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not only did it shed light on a topic that I relatively knew little about, but it also helped in categorising Freddie as one of the millions who suffered from the disease and wasn't just a stand-alone case. As a result, the rapid and vast rise of this illness was really emphasized. It also drew on the huge irony and misfortune that came from one batch of infected blood, and some one hundred years or so ended up killing a legend. This explanation was also laid out really clearly and concisely so I could actually understand what was going on, no scientific lingo here!
While obviously, the majority of the book was on Freddie, I really appreciated the detail that was given to other people that were part of his life. While he's often been painted as something of a solitary character, it was nice reading that he had a close inner circle of friends on which he depended. The use of direct quotations from interviews, I found to be really enlightening and helped fill some apparent gaps that were left within some of the events, either from Brian, Roger or John or friends and family. Great attention to detail was given on little anecdotes or minor details. The one that brings a particularly large lump in my throat was when Jim Hutton placed a teddy bear inside Freddie's body bag, a touching and heartbreaking sentiment for any individual who was a Queen or Freddie fan.
I also really liked how the book was categorised almost into different Queen albums, chronologically. Not only did it help build a picture of what the band's success over a seriously lengthy amount of time looked like but also gave a really personal (or as personal as it could have been) account of the members as human beings, and not just rock gods.
The deeper I got into this book, the more it read like a thriller, with the constant shadow of an hourglass pouring and the painful reminder of human mortality. The last quarter of the book was where the writing really shines through. In short the last few accounts of how he spent his final days really offered a lens into how complex of a character he was. The idea of him in his bedroom, contemplating how large garden lodge was is a thought that really resonates with me, the insignificance of it all.
All in all, an incredibly interesting but also moving accounts on one of the most iconic individuals to have ever lived. Would definitely recommend.
Except for a kind of tendency to editorialize and try to read Freddie's mind, I thought this was very good and well researched.
There was a lot of good information in this book, about Queen, Freddie, AIDS, and queer culture. I feel like I learned a lot about all of those topics, and I liked how much of it was direct quotes. That said, some of the framing was odd, particularly around his sexuality--it referred to him as bisexual once or twice, then gay or homosexual throughout most of the rest of the book. This was despite referencing him having romantic and sexual relationships with women multiple times. So, didn't know what to do with that. I also found myself skimming over a lot of the play-by-plays of every gig they ever did. I mean, it's good that information is recorded somewhere but I found it a little extraneous to my interests.
I thought this was very comprehensive. Covered Freddie's life as well as the origins and life of Queen. Also interwove the origins of HIV and AIDS and how it became a widespread pandemic. Nice tone and decently linear, which was nice as the last music bio I read was not linear at all. Did give in to a little hyperbole and sensationalism at times, but did better here than I expected. My main quibble is the author's continued erasure of Freddie's bisexuality throughout the text, and not even David Bowie escaped this bisexual erasure either, which I found rather egregious. Aside from that, I did like it overall, and would recommend it to others.
There were some passages (especially towards the beginning) that could have been interpreted as bi-erasure. However, the rest of this wonderful and respective biography has led me to believe that the authors were merely reflecting the common views of Mercury's era, rather than their own personal beliefs.