Reviews

Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent by Anthony Rapp

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station12reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

booknerd_therapist's review against another edition

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5.0

Having just finished this book about 30 seconds ago, I couldn't decide whether to rate it 4 or 5 stars. I will list what I loved and what I didn't love as much, and you can decide if this book is for you.

In all honesty, I wasn't crazy about the incredibly detailed descriptions of his sexual encounters. I believe some private things should be kept private, so that was difficult to read (though I wouldn't recommend skipping these pages, because you may miss something important). I also would have appreciated more stories about the people and production of Rent. Parts of the novel seemed to drag as he went on and on about some personal things.

However, I couldn't help but admire Anthony Rapp's incredible honesty and profound sincerity. He definitely does not present himself as a perfect person, and shows absolute humility in presenting his flaws and missteps right along with his success. He always has a life lesson to share, and explains it without being "holier than thou." In addition, the stories he DID share about the cast and production of Rent were very enjoyable, especially those about Jonathan Larson.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this to anyone who is not a Rent fan. However, I am definitely recommending this to my fellow Rent-heads!

alexblackreads's review against another edition

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5.0

I adored this book, which probably isn't surprising considering I'm such a big fan of both Rent and Anthony Rapp. But even then, this book was better than I was expecting. It was so emotional and took me ages to read because I never felt ready for the heartbreak this book brought. I learned so much about Rent and so much about Anthony Rapp, and I can't remember the last time a book made me cry this much.

I don't think there's enough in this book for people who aren't already fans of Anthony Rapp and/or Rent, but if you are a fan, I highly recommend picking this up.

coreyk's review against another edition

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5.0

Bold and honest, this is one of the most amazing memoirs I have ever read. Everyone needs to read this book!

thebookandfilmcorner's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

kerryanndunn's review against another edition

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3.0

I'd give the first half of this book 5 stars. In that half of the book, Anthony Rapp, as an original original original cast member of Rent, chronicles that wonderful piece of theater from workshop beginnings to Broadway success. That part of the book soars. But once the focus leaves Rent and he begins to instead chronicle every sexual encounter and boyfriend he's had since adolescence, this memoir becomes tedious. Then it devolves further in his inability to handle his mother's death and his many irrational fights with his then boyfriend. In fact he comes off as an asshole. I'm glad he eventually started seeing a therapist because he needed it. That lackluster second half is what caused this book to end up as just 3 stars for me.