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A review by sjgrodsky
I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen by Sylvie Simmons
4.0
I'm a tepid fan of Leonard Cohen. He wrote some wonderful songs, but I like them better when they are sung, not recited at a glacial pace in Cohen's gravelly voice.
So I knew that 500-plus pages was more than I wanted. As expected, i skimmed the last half of the book. By then there was not much new to learn: Cohen would be gathering songs and musicians for a new album, then recording, then touring. Sometimes the critics liked the album, sometimes it sold well. Most often he would be in the midst of a semi-committed relationship with a woman who was most often blonde. He would be swimming twice a day. He would be self medicating with drugs and alcohol.
Or sometimes, only a few of the above would apply. The album wouldn't sell well. He didn't drink during this tour. She was brunette. And so on.
Here's what I'm trying to say: though I can only admire the author's thorough research, she falls into the common trap of telling us everything she's learned. I don't want more data. I want more understanding.
And at the least, I want the data presented better. There's no discography. No bibliography. No event timeline. No list of awards and honors.
But a consistent portrait does emerge: a nice Jewish boy from upper crust Westmount who was, above all else, a creative personality. If you believe in the common credo (love the art not the artist) you can forgive his indulgences in drugs, alcohol, sex. He never denied his Jewishness, even while becoming a zen master. He mastered the art of the cordial breakup -- none of the past lovers the author interviews would bad mouth him. He wrote and revised and wrote again -- at least two novels, several slim verse collections.
And finally the songs.
Hallelujah.
So I knew that 500-plus pages was more than I wanted. As expected, i skimmed the last half of the book. By then there was not much new to learn: Cohen would be gathering songs and musicians for a new album, then recording, then touring. Sometimes the critics liked the album, sometimes it sold well. Most often he would be in the midst of a semi-committed relationship with a woman who was most often blonde. He would be swimming twice a day. He would be self medicating with drugs and alcohol.
Or sometimes, only a few of the above would apply. The album wouldn't sell well. He didn't drink during this tour. She was brunette. And so on.
Here's what I'm trying to say: though I can only admire the author's thorough research, she falls into the common trap of telling us everything she's learned. I don't want more data. I want more understanding.
And at the least, I want the data presented better. There's no discography. No bibliography. No event timeline. No list of awards and honors.
But a consistent portrait does emerge: a nice Jewish boy from upper crust Westmount who was, above all else, a creative personality. If you believe in the common credo (love the art not the artist) you can forgive his indulgences in drugs, alcohol, sex. He never denied his Jewishness, even while becoming a zen master. He mastered the art of the cordial breakup -- none of the past lovers the author interviews would bad mouth him. He wrote and revised and wrote again -- at least two novels, several slim verse collections.
And finally the songs.
Hallelujah.