Customer Reviews

Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me

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I'm a fan of Martin Millar, so I was fully expecting this to be a good book. What I wasn't expecting was for it to be as emotionally involving as it turned out to be. Or how much it would end up meaning to me.

For one, it was shelved in the Science Fiction section of my local book store, which I can't for the life of me wrap my head around having now read it. While the book does feature dragons, fairies, a zeppelin full of ghosts, and the questionably mythical city of Atlantis; it's actually a beautifully honest, simple memoir of a teenage boy's romantic and social struggles on his way to see his favorite band in concert. (The account of that concert is also one of the most perfect descriptions of what it feels like seeing the band you idolize live that I've ever read.)

It's not just a book for Led Zeppelin fans. It could have been about any band, honestly. It is, however, a book for anyone who has ever been young, awkward, hopelessly in love, and turned to a band for comfort and salvation.

And it's my new favorite book. Period.

I started reading it last night, and read 33 chapters before having to put it down. It is excellent! Mainly because of the author's writing style. Cynical, funny, and to the point. It's the semi-autobiographical memoir of a 14 year old Led Zeppelin fan living in Glasgow, Scotland in 1972. I, for one, really like it. And when an author does a good job, I like to spread the word. So there it is!

Having only lately discovered Mr. Millar, I wasn't sure if Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me would be as ...er... up to snuff as his other works.
I was way off base with this worry. This title is far above and beyond what I could have dreamed.
It's a painfully honest look at what it means to be an adolescent boy, complete with all the humiliating flights of fancy, vicious spiteful wishful thinking, and ludicrous plotting that goes through a 14 year old's head.
Led Zeppelin is NOT the focus of this book, it could have been about any band. The point is more about how they affected him as a child, not what they sound like. Fill in your own favorite band, if Led Zeppelin doesn't do it for you.
Unlike most of what I read, I strongly recommend this to everyone.

Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me is a beautiful work. The title caught my attention because I love Led Zeppelin.
I have read reviews that say this book captures the epicness of seeing
any band that is a favorite, but with its many, many Led Zeppelin references,
only a Led Zep fan can fully appreciate it. A must read for anyone that 1)adores Led Zeppelin,
2) relates to teenage angst, and 3)is a fan of Millar's minimalist writing.
I read this book in one day and will definitely read it again!