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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book! Plus it is a two for one - the story of Freddie Mercury with the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic woven through it. I am a huge Freddie Mercury fan and I'd say this is now my favorite book about him! Well researched and a great citation section for further reading.
I enjoyed this biography on Freddie Mercury/Queen. It also discussed the history of HIV and the epidemic it became in the 1980s.
After seeing Bohemian Rhapsody, I needed more information about Freddie Mercury. I was fascinated by his life as portrayed in the movie and wanted to go a little more in depth. I did a lot of research when picking this biography and found out that there are a lot of serious...and I mean serious...fans of Queen out there with a lot to say about pretty much every biography. I chose this one because it also includes a history of the aids virus and how it came to be spread so rapidly across the globe. And because I am new to the history of the band (but having had their music around me all my life. 80's baby, here :P), I didn't need to be overly picky in choosing a book.
What I really loved about this book was that nothing was dramatically sensationalized. There wasn't a gossipy tone to the narrative, nor did I ever get the sense that the authors were thinking, "And then, you won't even believe what happened next. Freddie did...". The information was presented in a straightforward, yet very readable, way. Even the mentions of Freddie Mercury's private lifestyle, which was pretty extravagant, were reported as just facts of his life. The authors did not describe in explicit detail the private, sexual encounters in Mercury's life, which was also something I really appreciated about this book. The book begins with when HIV first crossed from animal to human and how it unwittingly spread from there. This history is interspersed throughout the narrative of Freddie Mercury's life in a way that was not tedious and actually brought understanding to what was happening in the time period. I felt like all of this was really well done.
The only things that bothered me about this book was that (1) there were some instances of poor editing, especially toward the end. There's some interesting comma usage that made me have to re-read a few sentences containing lists and there would be random typos, and (2), I really felt there could have been more pictures included. I had to look up a lot of the people mentioned in the book because I wanted to find out what they looked like. But neither of these things detracted too much from my overall enjoyment of the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who, like me, is new to the history of Queen and Freddie Mercury. I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The history it describes is actually quite different from the movie, but both were pretty awesome.
What I really loved about this book was that nothing was dramatically sensationalized. There wasn't a gossipy tone to the narrative, nor did I ever get the sense that the authors were thinking, "And then, you won't even believe what happened next. Freddie did...". The information was presented in a straightforward, yet very readable, way. Even the mentions of Freddie Mercury's private lifestyle, which was pretty extravagant, were reported as just facts of his life. The authors did not describe in explicit detail the private, sexual encounters in Mercury's life, which was also something I really appreciated about this book. The book begins with when HIV first crossed from animal to human and how it unwittingly spread from there. This history is interspersed throughout the narrative of Freddie Mercury's life in a way that was not tedious and actually brought understanding to what was happening in the time period. I felt like all of this was really well done.
The only things that bothered me about this book was that (1) there were some instances of poor editing, especially toward the end. There's some interesting comma usage that made me have to re-read a few sentences containing lists and there would be random typos, and (2), I really felt there could have been more pictures included. I had to look up a lot of the people mentioned in the book because I wanted to find out what they looked like. But neither of these things detracted too much from my overall enjoyment of the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who, like me, is new to the history of Queen and Freddie Mercury. I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The history it describes is actually quite different from the movie, but both were pretty awesome.
Where should I start...
A quote from the book: “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"
Why should you be defined by your disease? Freddie was a talented artist and performer who had changed the face of rock and inspired many artists. Going into this book, I thought I was reading about Freddie and his achievements, not the over-dramatized history of AIDS.
In addition, there is no timeline, the authors constantly contradict themselves, they recount stories about Freddie's one-night stands as if they were there themselves and the book is poorly edited with random footnotes that do not apply. Freddie was a very private person and he never fully came out as gay to the public and was very cryptic about what his song lyrics meant, however the authors found it necessary to mention reasons why he was gay and decided they needed to decode his songs.
If you want to read an interpretation and dramatic telling of AIDS, sprinkled with bits of Mercury’s life, this is the book for you.
If you want to read a biography that is purely factual, I wouldn't choose this one.
A quote from the book: “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"
Why should you be defined by your disease? Freddie was a talented artist and performer who had changed the face of rock and inspired many artists. Going into this book, I thought I was reading about Freddie and his achievements, not the over-dramatized history of AIDS.
In addition, there is no timeline, the authors constantly contradict themselves, they recount stories about Freddie's one-night stands as if they were there themselves and the book is poorly edited with random footnotes that do not apply. Freddie was a very private person and he never fully came out as gay to the public and was very cryptic about what his song lyrics meant, however the authors found it necessary to mention reasons why he was gay and decided they needed to decode his songs.
If you want to read an interpretation and dramatic telling of AIDS, sprinkled with bits of Mercury’s life, this is the book for you.
If you want to read a biography that is purely factual, I wouldn't choose this one.
I had higher exceptions for this book. I've been on a Queen kick ever since seeing Bohemian Rasphondy in theaters back in December. I've always loved their music growing up so when I saw this book at the library I had to pick it up. But knowing how I'm not the biggest fan of Non-fiction books I had already figured that it was going to be tough on keeping my attention on it.
I loved the information about Freddie's life and Queen's rise in the music industry. But I did not love the constant jumping to speculation of how HIV/AIDs had spread and how Freddie had gotten infected. I understand that it's a major part of his life, but it was way too much stats for my brain to handle when I was mostly expecting details about the music and his life outside of the disease. Everything was starting to sound very repetitive as well. There were lots of sentences that I think could have been cut due to the authors using them as chapter endings a lot.
The main thing about this book that I'm grateful for is that it made me want to look up the music videos and listen to the songs that I haven't heard from them before. I've definitely learned more about Freddie and would recommend this to people who are interested as well.
I loved the information about Freddie's life and Queen's rise in the music industry. But I did not love the constant jumping to speculation of how HIV/AIDs had spread and how Freddie had gotten infected. I understand that it's a major part of his life, but it was way too much stats for my brain to handle when I was mostly expecting details about the music and his life outside of the disease. Everything was starting to sound very repetitive as well. There were lots of sentences that I think could have been cut due to the authors using them as chapter endings a lot.
The main thing about this book that I'm grateful for is that it made me want to look up the music videos and listen to the songs that I haven't heard from them before. I've definitely learned more about Freddie and would recommend this to people who are interested as well.
this biography expertly weaves in the narrative of the AIDS crisis with the rise of Freddie Mercury and Queen, which is an innovative approach and really solidifies Freddie's legacy in both music and society. the biographers are detailed and specific, never embellishing or dramatizing anything (more than Freddie already did, that is) and connecting Freddie with the people around him in ways that made me think about the unpredictable shortness of life and the scope of humanity encompassed in one man who liked to dance and wear flamboyant clothes and had an otherworldly voice, but ultimately, just did his best to be himself in a world that wasn't ready for him.
I wanted to love this book. It wasn’t at all what I had anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised that it gave a lot of information about HIV and AIDS. I had imagined the book was entirely about Freddie Mercury. While I know it’s impossible to write about him without diving into the details of how he ended up becoming HIV+, I just felt it was far fetched to narrow it down to whom he likely exposed him to the virus and what September weekend it happened. I thought this was a little far fetched and quite unfair to even try to guess. Because it’s exactly that, a guess. While readers may want to know more, there are just many things that will never be known. A book can have multiple authors and be very fluid. This was very choppy and somewhat repetitive. I was also extremely annoyed by the carelessness of dates. Pictures were labeled as one date, and the narrative was completely different i.e. the last picture taken of him at Garden Lodge. Also the dates of Queen Tribute concert was stated to be April 20, 1991, which was actually in 1992 (after he died, not before). These simple but important details made me doubt much that is contained in the pages.
The book kept my attention because I kept expecting it to be worth it in the long run. To my disappointment, it was not.
The book kept my attention because I kept expecting it to be worth it in the long run. To my disappointment, it was not.
Comprehensive and Excellent
Somebody to Love is a comprehensive and somewhat definitive exposé on the two sides of Freddie Mercury, the man (a shy, soft spoken, private individual) and the lead singer of Queen (an outrageous, boundaries breaking entertainer). While the focus doesn't go in depth on the other three band members, they are mentioned within the confines of the group's history.
This is a comprehensive timeline of events of the band's progression from college club band to a global brand. Juxtaposed with the band's timeline is the history of HIV/AIDS as the disease progressed from the African jungles into Western culture, ultimately invading the nightclubs and bathhouses of the underground gay scene.
The story remains informative and interesting throughout, though the timeline of events were sometimes hard to follow, it was interesting to get the full picture of where the disease originated, how it was discovered, and the public and political response to the new "gay cancer". There's a lot of phrases and words used too often, such as hedonism (hedonistic) and "last few years"/ "next few years", but as a whole this book kept the pace moving forward and shared as much as the public information available in both a private man and a silent killer.
This book quotes heavily from other Mercury biographies and other AIDS sources, such as Newsweek articles, and the book And The Band Played On. It is the quoted sources on the Band and from Mercury himself which has prompted me to read the quoted sources on the subject of Freddie Mercury and specifically on the AIDS virus. As a side note: And the Band Played is a great source of information on the early outbreak of the disease and I highly recommend it. And Somebody to Love will become the definitive source for anyone to go to when wanting to know more about the great entertainer Freddie Mercury.
Somebody to Love is a comprehensive and somewhat definitive exposé on the two sides of Freddie Mercury, the man (a shy, soft spoken, private individual) and the lead singer of Queen (an outrageous, boundaries breaking entertainer). While the focus doesn't go in depth on the other three band members, they are mentioned within the confines of the group's history.
This is a comprehensive timeline of events of the band's progression from college club band to a global brand. Juxtaposed with the band's timeline is the history of HIV/AIDS as the disease progressed from the African jungles into Western culture, ultimately invading the nightclubs and bathhouses of the underground gay scene.
The story remains informative and interesting throughout, though the timeline of events were sometimes hard to follow, it was interesting to get the full picture of where the disease originated, how it was discovered, and the public and political response to the new "gay cancer". There's a lot of phrases and words used too often, such as hedonism (hedonistic) and "last few years"/ "next few years", but as a whole this book kept the pace moving forward and shared as much as the public information available in both a private man and a silent killer.
This book quotes heavily from other Mercury biographies and other AIDS sources, such as Newsweek articles, and the book And The Band Played On. It is the quoted sources on the Band and from Mercury himself which has prompted me to read the quoted sources on the subject of Freddie Mercury and specifically on the AIDS virus. As a side note: And the Band Played is a great source of information on the early outbreak of the disease and I highly recommend it. And Somebody to Love will become the definitive source for anyone to go to when wanting to know more about the great entertainer Freddie Mercury.
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
informative
sad
medium-paced
very informative on AIDS/HIV but it kept pressing on how unlucky for Freddie to catch AIDS