29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book which by a Goth FOR Goths but hoping to reach others!, November 9, 2004
This is actually the very first charming Goth book. We have had a few Goth epics in recent years, from my Net-based tome, to Paul Hodkinson's academic study, Gavin Baddeley coming from a Metal perspective, and Dave Thompson rummaging through the eighties. What is unusual here is that Nancy Kilpatrick hasn't any ego-driven agenda, and has actively sought out Goth opinions to decorate each chapter with. 95 Goths answered 125 questions each to form an alternative spine to this work and it makes it a very different book to the rest. Nancy is best known as a Horror writer but she is a Goth, and clearly delighted to be writing the book, as she also wants this book to help others understand Goth.
You get serious contributions on sex/relationships/Fetish/marriage/Goth children/Corporate Goth/Goth homes, Art and Literature (Old and New), and it ends with a chapter on the Future, even if that felt a little skimpy.
Basically, she goes through things that effect Goth life, from clothes to accoutrements, to relationships, religion, cemeteries, architecture, music and all the expected areas, with quotes and photos from her Goths interviews draping pages like curtains, as their comments go down the outer columns to most spreads. Those interviewed within the chapter text tend to be business-related individuals pertinent to the topic in question. So, in the Fashion or Lifestyle sections you have many a Goth contribution, but also meet Morpheus of Siren, R. Hunter Gough of `Gother Than Thou', Fred H. Berger of Propaganda, Terri of Ipso Facto, Natasha of Meltdown, Steven Of Gothic Beauty, Trish & Snooky of Manic Panic, Sonia (Hair Police), AntiSally (Goth Rosary), the Alchemy boys, Batty (Azrael's Accomplice), Mirabai (Tenebrae) Doktor Joy (Pennangalan Dreams), piercer Pierre Black and those lovely X-tra-X people. You can find a proper analyses of Absinthe, then on a similar vein find the weird story of how Michael Marchet finally got Vampire wine onto the market. Out of one area another little bubble will pop, making it a very pleasant read with unexpected dalliances emerging.
The only disappointing part of me was a curious lack of musical coverage but Nancy has admitted the music side of thing isn't her strong point. She looked for willing musical contributors and some of what they say is unusual.
Oh Hell, you get Clubs, and zines, net.goth, net habits, comics, gardening, Goth sub-species, and so on. It's a big book, commendably detailed in its travels to the heart of Goth and it is, without doubt, the most naturally jubilant, Goth-friendly, book which has so far been printed.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's About Time...However..., December 27, 2004
I Only wish that it was bigger. More More More. I enjoyed it, being a 30-something goth who has seen and done it all at some point. But still, it is nice to know that there are other people out there that have the same sense of goth humor and choose to live that beautiful and misunderstood lifestyle. Some of it is laughable, some is beautiful, nonetheless several times throughout the book I was reminded of how and why I "became goth" pardon the cliche'...and I reminisced about the wonderful music and people I knew during certain periods of my punk/goth/mod/new-wave/new romantic/artrockbeatnikpagan phases. I wish Nancy Kilpatrick, Voltaire (who wrote the "Oh My Goth" comics and has several cds) and Brandon Neil Ragan (who wrote the gothic cult classic "Grey Garden") would all get together and write the official "GOTH-UMENTARY". They seem like they could pull off the ultimate gothic coffee table book. Anyway, thanks for the cool book
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