Customer Reviews

Courtney Love: The Real Story

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

In the last paragraph of this book's foreword, author Poppy Z. Brite states: "The purpose of this book is not to condemn or defend Courtney Love - everyone seems to feel obliged to do one or the other - but to chronicle the first thirty-two years of her fascinating life as accurately as possible."

Certainly a noble cause. And it's especially impressive that she'd attempt to write a nonbiased biography, being Courtney's friend. This is one of the reasons I think this book fails as an accurate and unbiased chronicle. You can't turn to the media for solid information on Courtney Love, because there are several different versions of every story about her. And you can't turn to Courtney Love for solid information on herself, because she's the one that gave the media all that misinformation. (This is a woman who's provided three conflicting accounts of her own NAME: over the years, she's variously claimed her birthname to be Courtney Michelle Harrison, Love Michelle Harrison, and Michelle Love Harrison.)

The publishers certainly must have sensed sensationalism. If they'd put an unflattering picture of Love on the cover of the book, it would utterly change the meaning of the phrase "The Real Story." But they chose to put a glowing, smiling, recent photo of her on the cover. For this reason, the book itself screams "shamelessly authorized biography" even before you open it up.

I have no idea how much of this material is true and how much is false. I'm not really a hardcore fan of Courtney Love, so I haven't read enough Courtneylore to know how many different versions of every single story there are. I am, however, a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan, so I personally can account for the misinformation about lead singer Billy Corgan in this book. For one thing, Brite states that Billy is one inch shorter than Courtney. That would make Courtney six and a half feet tall. This is undoubtedly one of the many "facts" Brite obtained directly from Courtney and placed in the book unquestioningly, without doing any backup research to see if she might be lying. (In almost any major article on the Smashing Pumpkins you can find, the journalist makes some comment - however fleeting - about Billy Corgan's surprising tallness.)

Courtney has often talked about how Billy comforted her after Kurt Cobain's death. For a few years after the fact, she even made it sound as if they'd had sex. Only recently did she admit that they didn't have sex, but said Billy did help her a lot in moving on with her life. In "The Real Story," he has no role in the comforting process at all. Being as how he's never said anything about it, Courtney is once again the only source of information - and Brite takes her current word for it without doing the background research and finding all the other, conflicting, things she's said on the subject.

Finally, Celebrity Skin. Probably anyone reading this review is familiar with the infamous Celebrity Skin wars, in which Billy and Courtney went back and forth in the media over how large of a role he had in making the album. In response to his assertation that he'd written six songs, Courtney said that he'd barely done any work at all. In "The Real Story," he calls her up, offering to help her on the album, and doesn't stop helping her until he's completely exhausted. At no point does Courtney ask him to leave. In various other versions of the story, SHE calls HIM up, asking him to help, and only lets him do some of the work, despite his willingness to do more.

There are most definitely more, but I don't know enough about Hole or Nirvana to point them out. It is, however, dubious that Kurt Cobain would have an "obsession" with guns. And then there's Hank Harrison, who's been given all the three-dimensional personality of a comic book supervillain. Like another reviewer mentioned, every man in Courtney's life is portrayed as having been bent on doing her in, while she's always well-meaning. This is the kind of problematic manuscript that results from trying to write a biography about a friend of yours - and assuming that your friend is always going to impart to you "the REAL story" about her life.

This book says more about Courtney Love than any factual biography could. Does she really see herself as the victim she's portrayed as in this book? If she didn't before, why did she suddenly change her perception of herself at the time of this book's publication - 1997? And why in God's name does she feel the need to lie about stupid, insignificant things like her birthname or Billy Corgan's height?

Whether or not she was in fact administered LSD at the age of 4 (or age 2, or 3, as she's claimed in various interviews), this account screams of a little girl whose painful childhood prompted her to escape into her own dreamworld - and whose talkative nature invited countless music journalists into that world.

Reads like Courtney Love either paid to have the book written or else was standing over Poppy Z. Brite and dictating as Brite typed. But a great read if you can get through the sugar-coating. There's some amazing rewriting of history and back-handed compliments apparently straight from Courtney. Worth the read just for the accidental insights. Meanwhile, Melissa Rossi's "Cournty Love: Queen of Noise" remains the best read on the subject.

For a woman who claimed she would never have an authorized bio in her house, Courtney certainly seems intent on never allowing anything short of a very edited version of her own life to surface (not that I blame her). For the record, I loved Courtney back in the 90's before she became the fashion freak and Hollywood gadfly. Her music was powerful as was her message that young women should make their own music rather than become groupie trash. For that alone she should be put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, as quickly as she could, she traded in her empowered feminist personna, began to starve, had massive plastic surgery, and abandonned her fans. Sad but true. Now on to the book. If you believe this author, Courtney was basically a modern day female Tom Sawyer. She has rotten parents (reading her mum's autobio might make you think differently), people try to use and abuse her, but Gosh darn it, that Courtney always rises again! One implausible story is how when Courtney was a teen stripping in Japan the owners of the club try to force her into prostitution. Not only does Courtney manage to stay a virgin (if you believe that one, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you), but she also tricks a guy into buying her a fur coat by only using her wit! Sorry, not buying. I liked Rossi's bio better, though it has problems as well. Since Rossi only can get second hand info on Courtney, obviously many to whom she had spoken had an ax to grind. Also, Rossi's own attitude often seems that of a high school journalist who wants so badly to be part of the "cool crowd" and when they reject her, she writes scathing articles about them. Rossi offers a better overview of Love's younger life while Brite (who had the benefit of Courtney's insight into her own life) writes more indepth about Love's years as a member of Hole and as Cobain's wife and widow. Really, you have to read them both to remotely get an idea of who Courtney is.

I read this biography after reading "Courtney Love: Queen of Noise" by Melissa Rossi, Courtney Love: The Queen of Noise. Both definitely have their flaws and strong points. Each contributes different facts and stories, so if you read both you get a pretty complete picture of Courtney Love's life.

BRITE:

Very easy to follow, but kind of feels like an overview. I wish she would have gone into more depth on some issues. Also Poppy Brite desperately needs an EDITOR! The mistakes don't really affect the story, but they certainly don't give the reader much faith in her abilities. Lots of color pictures and an extensive bibliography.

ROSSI:

This biography gives much more detail and depth into Courtney's life. The writing style is a bit haphazard and choppy, but is still understandable and more interesting than Brite's. The one main fault against Melissa Rossi is that she doesn't cite any of her sources which leads you to wonder where she got her information. She does admit that she never interviewed Courtney and this was "unauthorized."

Neither book is really above the other and both books are entertaining reads for a cheap price.

I got my hands on this book because I LOVE Ms. Brite's horror novels, and it was actually this biography that launched me into the music of Courtney Love. The music is better than the book, though, and Brite's other books are also more well-written than this one. It's a pretty biased story, a fact that didn't bother me in any way, but I guess that real Nirvana or Kurt Cobain fans do not find this entertaining at all. If you Love Courtney Love, however, you should definitely Read Through This, since it sketches a nice picture of this enfant terrible of rock music.

Courtney Love has always been hard to interpret. Though this book does not cover the past six years of her life having been published in 1997, it is a comprehensive look at her life until then. From her beginings as a unwanted child and a teenage stripper, to her life after Kurt Cobain's suicide this book is full of detail. It is certainly on the sensational side. As well, it does not try to seriously analyze the events of her life. However, it is highly entertaining and intimate. Before Kurt Cobain's suicide and the release of Live through this, she was, by some, regarded as merely Kurt Cobain's wife. After that, she came into her own. This book does a good job of relating how she accomplished that. The fact that this book ends with 1997 makes you sorry. It would be interesting to read the author's account of the recent years of Courtney's life. After reading this book, you see the truth of what the adult Courtney told her mother: ''The only parents who could drive someone to celebrity are ones who aren't there''. Indeed, her parents were not there as much as they should have been. Courtney Love's life has always been a soap opera and probably always will be. Her latest drug scandal in October only serves to prove that. She is much more than just a interesting personality, though. Just listen to Live through this or particularly, Celebrity Skin. They prove that she is certainly talented. Her first solo album should prove this as well. This is a very readable and entertaining book. If you are interested in Courtney Love at all, read this book. You will come away even more interested.

This book really glosses over anything and everything interesting that has been written about Ms. Love. There is no description as to Ms. Love's struggles, her own creative process. How did she learn to play guitar? It's never mentioned. Things like her stripping are only glossed over, there is no details around the grittiness and heartbreak that accompanies the abuse bestowed upon women in these profession. Her relationship with Kurt is refered to in only the most general of terms. The writing is dull and the overall tone is saccharine, as if aimed at naive 12-14 year olds, who would be hard-pressed to like such a book. If you read it, you'll finish it in less than two-three hours. Stick to fiction, Poppy, there at least, you're doing something a little more interesting. As for Ms. Love, in this book, she is neither someone to be idolized or put down. The countroversy is gone. Just another boring media commodity.

I just finished reading this book, and while it didn't go into ALL the details I was interested in, Loves Hollywood experiences (barely covered) plastic surgery (non-existent), and her days with Kurt (sugar coated), I STILL couldn't put it down. Not necessarily because it's great, but because the subject is interesting.This book would've been far better if it had been edited further. It would've meant no skipped chapters, therefore dispensing with areas mired in unnecessary details.

Brite becomes quite dull as she babbles painfully long-winded chapters dedicated to every boring and picayune detail of Loves early childhood, and schooling. Then she glosses over relevant subjects that should've been expanded on, while completely deleting major areas of interest altogether. Although I enjoyed this book despite the flaws, it left me feeling somewhat cheated.

I will still recommend you read this book. Why? It's about the life of Courtney Love! Even if you find her vaguely interesting, or you're a devout devotee, you'll STILL find this book an entertaining read, cover to cover, because of the subject matter, and when NOT writing drivel filler chapters, the author writes well. I will say however, that I found the Melissa Rossi book far more interesting and detailed where it counts.

My dad bought this book for me on my thirteenth birthday and I was awed. Since then, I have probably read this book over and over. Although I do not see Courtney as a pleasant person, she has lived a life less ordinary and she is a quirky, odd person at that. There were many details that were left out of this book (her plastic surgery, her towering height and the allegations towards her possible involvement in Kurt's death). Melissa Rossi's "Queen of Noise" is better, in my opinion. Overall, "Courtney Love: The Real Story" is a must-have for any true Courtney Love/Hole fan.

Poppy Z. Brite asserts that Courtney was born Love Michelle Harrison. However, if you read another book, Her Mother's Daughter, written by Courtney's mother Linda Carroll, you see that Courtney's birth name was Courtney Michelle Harrison. If Poppy Z. Brite can't even get the name of her subject correct, I question the overall accuracy of other facts in this book.