Customer Reviews

To Major Tom...

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm always on the lookout for anything regarding David Bowie and this is one that definitely caught my eye. To be honest I haven't had a chance to read it yet; but will start shortly.

I borrowed this book from my sister, who is a great Bowie fan. Reading it, I repeatedly thought that I would much rather read a biography or a collection of magazine articles instead. It seemed to me that after writing a conventional biography, Thompson wanted to put forth his own personal views and feelings about Bowie and his career from a fan's perspective and dramatize them with fictionalized experiences, making it a novel-- except it really isn't one. There is no plot, which hardly matters if the writing, characters and incidents are interesting or exciting. Bowie, his career, and how music and pop culture changed over the years are all interesting subjects, but Gary is a dull protagonist and his experiences are obvious vehicles to place him in certain locations at certain times; they're not interesting in themselves. There is no ending to the story-- the book simply ends in 2002, which is the year it was first published.

I just couldn't get past how contrived it all was, especially because I felt like I was supposed to feel like it was so "real" and true-to-life. Yes, I was convinced that Gary was a regular guy whose only distinction was being a devoted Bowie fan, but he was still a lifeless character-- never more than a mouthpiece for Thompson. Often, Gary writes to David like a conventional pen-friend, sharing news of Bowie's life, career, and cohorts which would make sense if he were writing to anyone but Bowie himself! This struck me as a lame device to inform the reader of certain things, since Thompson was restricted by the format he'd selected. But he could have expanded his use of footnotes... or included not only letters from Gary to Bowie, but letters exchanged between Gary and fellow fans.

So, my rating is 1 as a novel but 3 for being full of fun tidbits about Bowie and his contemporaries, and observations of pop culture through the years, which is what kept me reading. I just wish it had been an outright real-life retrospective from Thompson as a Bowie fan, or even a multitude of fans sharing their experiences and Thompson putting it all into perspective. As it was, I felt like I was just slogging through "the novel" to get to the good stuff. I see that he's written a recent non-fiction book about Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell The Dangerous Glitter of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed (Book), which I might just check out.

The Bowie Letters chronicles a three-decade, one-way correspondence between the narrator, Gary, and David Bowie. What emerges in these letters is one of the finest meditations on what it means to be a pop fan that I have ever read.

Those who liked Nick Horby's "High Fidelity" but found themselves arguing with the narrator's selections of Desert Island Discs will enjoy this novel. It's a must-have for anyone who's spent too many hours over the years pouring over the liner notes of their favorite artist's albums.

My only complaints are two: 1) A discography of David Bowie would have been a nice addendum. Although one needn't be a Bowie fan to enjoy the book, my utter lack of knowledge about Bowie (I knew there was period in Berlin and I have ChangesBowie)sometimes made all the talk of reissues and Bowie's early work... not quite confusing, but a bit difficult to follow. 2) The end of the book lacks the charm and gusto of the first 250 pages. One of the most interesting questions that arises with any lifelong passion, particularly a passion for a musical artist, is how does that passion sustain itself or change over the years? What makes some people outgrow pop, and others not? Dave Thompson touches on this question, but it remains a mystery why Gary at 40 is still writing letters (albeit more sporadically) to the same pop star he wrote to at 16. Is it simply inertia that keeps us going?

Anyhow-- it's a question I pondered after completing this very enjoyable book, reminiscent of both Nick Hornby and Bob Greene's excellent BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL. Highly recommended.