Outside Reading #2: Book Review

            Liz Phair’s book review, Stray Cat Blues, is a review of Keith Richards’ new autobiography Life. The review an insightful and interesting look into the rock ‘n’ roll life of the guitarist, but as far as reviewing and analyzing the book the review falls short. Filled with anecdotes and brief histories of his upbringing I feel like I have learnt something and know Richards a little better after reading Phair’s article but I am non-the-wiser as to the quality of Richards’ autobiography.

Phair opens her review by thoroughly appraising the rock icon, making it clear that anything said about the autobiography will be tainted by bias. Phair states “Music is at the core of Life,” but then spends the rest of her review writing about drugs and scandal. After the opening paragraph it almost seems like the next couple of pages is just one digression after the next and the reader is so far out on a limb it a jolt when Phair eventually begins a topic with “One theme in the book that really stuns is…” one has forgotten one is reading a book review. Phair does write a very interesting story of Keith Richards’ hiccups and adventures during her tangents but the article should not be found under ‘Book Reviews’ if the reader forgets there is any book involved.

After the initial wanderings and amusing, but off topic, tales Phair sticks to a choppy and slightly confusing structure. One paragraph of Richards’ history followed by a paragraph of loose connection to Life, bringing up vague themes and random quotes. This cut and paste style leads to multiple contradictions. Early on Phair states that “Disloyalty is about as low as you can go in his book” however half of Phair’s anecdotes are about the betrayal strewn relationship of Jagger and Richards.

The tone of Phair’s review is very informal.  She writes as if she were simply talking to a fellow ‘Keef’ fanatic. One gets the feeling she is advertizing the book, not reviewing it. The fact the she strays on tangents only adds to the sales pitch feel. Caught up in her pro-Richards’ rant she fails to say if a non-Richards’ fan would enjoy the book; obviously those, very few, who actually do not like Keith will never read Life but she does not elaborate for those who appreciate his music but are not crazy about him.

An interesting essay about an interesting icon, but not a review of a book.  Next time Phair should either stick to her job and write a review or just ghost write an autobiography for Richards herself, another fact she missed— Life is ghost-written.