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hurricanejoe 's review for:
Coming into this book, I was only vaguely aware of who Amanda Palmer and the Dresden Dolls. A friend had recommended that I watch her TED talk and read her book. After sitting in my goodreads queue for a couple months, I finally took up the task of reading it and am extremely happy that I did.
Amanda starts by talking about being a street performer, silently handing out flowers, all the while trying to connect with the people she interacts with. She continues to present day as lead singer of the Dresden Dolls all the while telling of her struggles asking for help and being busted by "The Fraud Police". She sweats her insecurities, anger, doubt, heartbreak on us as if we're attending one of her live performances. While the book is titled "The Art of Asking", the book is really about vulnerability, which is what held my attention the whole way through.
It's refreshing to have a (non-mainstream) artist convey insecurities and vulnerabilities that are quite similar to the ones I experience myself. The book is very humanizing and down to earth in that respect. While parts of the book are a bit campy, I mostly feel like it's Amanda's personality shining through. And while I'm not a huge fan of her punk, cabaret style of music, her lyrics are quite amazing and leap off the page like beat poetry. A great debut from this very interesting artist. She has something very important to teach us all....
Amanda starts by talking about being a street performer, silently handing out flowers, all the while trying to connect with the people she interacts with. She continues to present day as lead singer of the Dresden Dolls all the while telling of her struggles asking for help and being busted by "The Fraud Police". She sweats her insecurities, anger, doubt, heartbreak on us as if we're attending one of her live performances. While the book is titled "The Art of Asking", the book is really about vulnerability, which is what held my attention the whole way through.
It's refreshing to have a (non-mainstream) artist convey insecurities and vulnerabilities that are quite similar to the ones I experience myself. The book is very humanizing and down to earth in that respect. While parts of the book are a bit campy, I mostly feel like it's Amanda's personality shining through. And while I'm not a huge fan of her punk, cabaret style of music, her lyrics are quite amazing and leap off the page like beat poetry. A great debut from this very interesting artist. She has something very important to teach us all....