A big serving of Luciano Lite, ladled out by the affable tenor in generous portions. Pavarotti and collaborator Wright have made a veritable industry out of the singer's life; this is their third ``as-told- to'' project, picking up the thread of Pavarotti's life story about 15 years ago. The Three Tenors concerts; Latin American tours; running the Philadelphia Vocal Competition; sponsoring a new international horse show; performing in exotic locales like China and Singapore are the highlights of the singer's recent life. The character that Pavarotti and Wright create in this memoir is unrelentingly upbeat, positive, and never bears a grudge; Wright describes him as a person of ``unwavering humanity . . . across- the-board compassion . . . [and] absence of rancor.'' Although Pavarotti's larger-than-life personality dominates the book, some of the colorful characters who make up the operatic world also appear, particularly Hungarian-born promoter Tibor Rudas, who specializes in arranging grand-scale extravaganzas like Pavarotti's outdoor concert on Miami Beach. Pavarotti offers us brief portraits of the many famous people he has met, from Princess Diana (``so lovely, so kind, and so poised'') to Bruce Springsteen (``Like me, he appears to draw terrific energy from an audience''). Rumors of ill will between Pavarotti and his archrival Placido Domingo are quickly brushed aside (``We [are] completely friendly''), although there are no amusing anecdotes about Pavarotti spending his free time with Domingo, or indeed any other superstar singer. He reveals little tension or anxiety in his extended family (``My Wonderful Family,'' as one chapter titles them), even when he discusses a mysterious illness that plagued his youngest daughter. Coauthor Wright annoyingly inserts himself in the narrative as a character; Pavarotti is constantly commenting on ``Bill's'' presence, as if he were as important as the other characters. As light as a puff pastry, and as sugary sweet, but you'll be left hungry for more. (color and b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-517-70027-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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