pmovereem 's review for:

The Last Holiday: A Memoir by Gil Scott-Heron

3.0

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A disappointment. While the first half's a four-star book, when the narrative arrives at GSH's musical career, it spirals downward. Like other similarly-disappointing memoirs (Nile Rodgers', for instance), there's virtually NOTHING on the inspiration and process that leads to "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," "Home is Where the Hatred Is" (it's already been written and is being covered by Esther Phillips when we first hear of it), "Winter in America"--if you're still reading this, you know the list goes on. Also, Gil's prose style strains at puns and other wordplay rather awkwardly and makes the reading rough going in patches. I've read that the book was cobbled together from manuscripts Gil left behind, and, unfortunately, that's what it reads like.