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46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Forgettable but fun, July 17, 2008
This is far from being the most well-written book that I've read, but it does make fascinating reading, both as a fly-on-the-wall view of Madonna's life and for the very raw exposé of a highly dysfunctional brother/sister relationship. It's also rich in gossip, though not as much as I expected: a lot of famous names make appearances (Gwyneth, Demi, John F Kennedy Jr etc) but you don't get much sense of what they are like. The screaming fights between Madonna and Sean Penn are described but there is less insight into her relationship with Guy Ritchie (who clearly doesn't get on with Christopher), other than it evidently being a relationship that Madonna put considerable energy and effort into.
There is nothing impartial about Christopher's account and while that's to be expected, it does get a little tiresome. He's full of anger and hurt at the way she treated him and so it never feels like a balanced interpretation of events. For example, he is very scathing about her motivations to adopt a child from Malawi (essentially he says it's about trying to one up Angelina Jolie). Nevertheless, Madonna comes across pretty much as you'd expect her to: extremely charismatic but also highly self-centered, demanding and narcissistic with little sense of how normal people behave - as an example, she invites Demi and Ashton to dinner and then tells them that she and Guy are going to the cinema but they are welcome to stay behind and make themselves at home.
The book tears along and makes a fast read. It includes a number of photographs from Madonna's childhood and early career that I had never seen before.
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140 of 159 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insight Into an Icon, July 14, 2008
Life with My Sister Madonna, by Christopher Ciccone, is a revealing look into the life of Madonna, the "global icon". It is also about Christopher, their relationship, family, friends and fans.
The book begins with a prologue that takes place in London in 1993 and portrays the good times between brother and sister. Christopher explains that Madonna is an insomniac: "unbridled desire for fame and fortune, you see, is incompatible with sleep."
Madonna is portrayed as someone with both a massive ego and riddled with insecurities. She was very nervous about performing for the 1991 Academy Awards, because it was in front of established actors, "whose respect she desperately wanted to win."
Those who worked for her--including Christopher--knew to praise her during and after performances and movie premiers--no matter how poorly she acted, no matter what. When Madonna hired a new person to dress her between performances, for example, Christopher told him to keep quiet, except when Madonna asked, How do I look?" The reply: "Wonderful Madonna, wonderful."
Ciccone writes that Madonna wanted to be a great movie star: "I wish her well, but secretly believe that the only part that she is truly capable of playing is that of herself, Madonna, a part that she has created and curated."
Ouch.
The first chapter begins with their childhood in Rochester, Michigan. Tragically, their mother died when Christopher was 3 years old and Madonna, 5. The father remarries and there are 8 children.
The children are expected to do daily chores and are punished for transgressions; all save Madonna. Christopher writes that she rarely had to do chores and was virtually never punished. He wrote that Joan, his step mom, even seemed a bit afraid of Madonna.
Turns out, Madonna looks like their mother and is dad's favorite.
The book progresses though their lives. In high school, Madonna secretly took ballet classes and got Christopher involved as well. He explains that it was not for his company--which he desperately wanted; rather, the instructor, who Madonna adored, needed a male dancer.
Christopher believes that the disputes between brother and sister come with the addition of Guy Richie into Madonna's life. Richie is portrayed a homophobic jerk and it is obvious that there is no love between the author and Richie.
Ciccone writes that in 2001, Madonna: "treats me as if I am nothing other than a serf paid to decorate her house." He writes about how cheap Madonna is, especially in light of how much money she makes. In 2001, Richie and Madonnas worth were said to be worth $260 million. And Madonna had the highest female annual income in Britain of $43.8 million dollars. Ciccone writes that Madonna perpetually underpaid him, disputed payments and blackmailed Christopher over money. For example, he would not get paid unless he took Kabbalah classes with her.
No matter how badly Madonna treated her brother, he always came back for more, incapable of stopping himself. Madonna's power, so the book indicates, strong from childhood, only got stronger as she aged--making her a powerful, successful magnet that nobody--not even her brother--could resist.
A compelling read.
By the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An eye-opener, but ultimately quite depressing . . ., July 16, 2008
I felt sad for both Chris and his sister Madonna after reading this book. Despite all of the joy she brings to the world as an artist through her spectacular music and exuberant shows, the private Madonna makes every single person around her miserable with her ruthless insensitivity. The only person she can't push around is her husband, Guy. Christopher can't blame Guy for the deterioration of his relationship with Madonna. They had numerous disturbing issues long before Madonna even met Guy.
Christopher became just another enabler for Madonna, reinforcing her bad behavior by succumbing to it. They are both emotionally scarred individuals, stemming from the loss of their mother at an early age. Still, that is no excuse for Madonna to be a heartless sadistic monster (is it any surprise that she wore a fur coat made from hundreds of animals and once hunted birds for sport as an excuse to wear her "stylish" new hunting gear?); nor does it excuse Christopher for being a doormat. He would have been better off putting her in her place, abandoning the ostensibly glitzy lifestyle, and finding his own path in life.
The book is plainly written in an odd, present-tense narration. Christopher continuously interrupts the storytelling with his own negative opinions about Madonna (he clearly has very little esteem for her artistry). Many facts have been mixed up (e.g., Madonna was NOT singing "Holiday" while wearing the blonde afro wig in the Girlie Show; she was in a military costume for that song). But this was never meant to be an accurate historical account. Rather it is Christopher's redemption after a lifetime of humiliation and emotional abuse at his sister's hands. And on that level, he succeeds brilliantly. Madonna will never dare to hurt her little brother again.
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