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A review by thatokiebird
Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter by Alyn Shipton
informative
slow-paced
3.5
I actually preordered this book when it was first announced, and I couldn't wait to read a full length book all about my all-time favorite artist. So I don't know why it took me literally ten years to finally open the book and read through the 300+ pages. I've been on a celebrity memoir kick, and thought now was the best time to finally pick this up.
Like so many biographies written about celebrities, this book is missing heart and depth. There's so much telling us about this time and this history, but so little about the feeling and what the actual person at the heart of this bio thought of felt. I'm guessing Nilsson wasn't a journaler or an interviewee often, so how could a biographer include that kind of thing without conjecturing though.
However, the writing is decent, and leads us throughout Nilsson's life both personal and professional. The last half of the book was so redundant though with the seemingly endless cycles of substance abuse and poor health and self-destructive tendencies.
I wanted to like this book more, and come away feeling like I know my favorite artist better, but that's not quite the case. Not much stuck in my brain, but luckily I don't like him less than before I read the book so that's a win perhaps.
Like so many biographies written about celebrities, this book is missing heart and depth. There's so much telling us about this time and this history, but so little about the feeling and what the actual person at the heart of this bio thought of felt. I'm guessing Nilsson wasn't a journaler or an interviewee often, so how could a biographer include that kind of thing without conjecturing though.
However, the writing is decent, and leads us throughout Nilsson's life both personal and professional. The last half of the book was so redundant though with the seemingly endless cycles of substance abuse and poor health and self-destructive tendencies.
I wanted to like this book more, and come away feeling like I know my favorite artist better, but that's not quite the case. Not much stuck in my brain, but luckily I don't like him less than before I read the book so that's a win perhaps.