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A review by moon110581
Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder by John Waters
4.0
I always enjoy listening to John Waters talk about anything. He's like my gay grandpa, telling me about the good old days.
This book was a mixed bag that I almost gave three stars to, but reflecting on it decided on four. The chapters where he talks about things he knows about well are the strongest : his movies, Provincetown, the olden days of gay sex clubs, etc...
There's a few chapters where he let's his imagination run wild, speculates on a disgusting restaurant he would open or a terrifying house he would build. These two in particular get old after awhile since it's essentially the same joke over and over. He also had a chapter speculating on his death and afterlife that was better, and a strange and hilarious letter to his 'son,' an angry - looking Reborn doll named Bill.
There's a few chapters where he sounds a little out of touch, like a grumpy rich old man bemoaning air travel, hotel accommodations, and modern life in general that are also borderline humorous cautionary tales.
There were lots of places, though, where I learned something - about art, about architecture, about life back in the day, about music : those are the real reasons I bumped the star rating up and why I enjoy John Waters in the first place. He is a truly creative, interesting person who has lived an amazing and interesting life.
This book was a mixed bag that I almost gave three stars to, but reflecting on it decided on four. The chapters where he talks about things he knows about well are the strongest : his movies, Provincetown, the olden days of gay sex clubs, etc...
There's a few chapters where he let's his imagination run wild, speculates on a disgusting restaurant he would open or a terrifying house he would build. These two in particular get old after awhile since it's essentially the same joke over and over. He also had a chapter speculating on his death and afterlife that was better, and a strange and hilarious letter to his 'son,' an angry - looking Reborn doll named Bill.
There's a few chapters where he sounds a little out of touch, like a grumpy rich old man bemoaning air travel, hotel accommodations, and modern life in general that are also borderline humorous cautionary tales.
There were lots of places, though, where I learned something - about art, about architecture, about life back in the day, about music : those are the real reasons I bumped the star rating up and why I enjoy John Waters in the first place. He is a truly creative, interesting person who has lived an amazing and interesting life.