Too Weird for Ziggy [Paperback]

Sylvie Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2005

Sylvie Simmons' fiction debut, Too Weird for Ziggy is a darkly comic, corruscatinly observed collection of linked stories all set in the world of crass A & R men, fans mired in hero worship, and music stars perpetually on the verge of ego tantrum or outright crackup. From a pop goddess named Pussy who has a nervous breakdown, and is found hoarding her own hair and fingernail clippings to cults utterly devoted to Karen Carpenter that spring up after the singer's image appears on various buildings (including a kebab shop): from a band of crock-rockers whose star-making tour goes horribly wrong when their lead singer starts to grow breasts, to an MTV sponsored seance to raise a dead rock god, Simmons' tales embrace the bizarre world of rock. Too Weird for Ziggy has the devastating humour, punch and hook of a great a pop tune.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British music journalist Simmons has taken the years she spent interviewing rock's most outrageous personalities and compressed them into this lurid, engrossing collection of stories, gracefully linked like the incestuous world of rock itself. Alternating between first person and omniscient narration, she chronicles the transcendent weirdness of the music world. In one creepy story, "Pussy," a Blondie-esque pop goddess, disappears; years later, she's found in an East Village tenement surrounded by cabinets and sandwich bags stuffed with her own fingernails and excrement. The devastating effects of fame on personal identity are on display in almost every tale, from "Spitting Image," in which a megalomaniac rock star is ravaged by the kidnapping of his life-size look-alike puppet, to "Autograph," about an insolent rocker whose ex-girlfriend gives him a permanent comeuppance. The stories are at their best when Simmons depicts a scenario that doesn't read like a tabloid dream. In "I Kissed Willie Nelson's Nipple," a tough-living country star delivers a soliloquy so rich with hard-won wisdom that it trumps the too bizarre "Allergic to Kansas," in which a sexed-up lead singer mysteriously grows breasts. On these pages, fictional rock stars mingle with real ones, reminding readers, as with those ubiquitous Elvis sightings, that true rockers never die. They're just preparing for a comeback.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

'A damn good writer. She is honest, truthful and scathing. Read these stories.' Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead 'Very subversive and out-there and radical and funny and rather wicked, but very good and very, very well written.' Marianne Faithfull 'Brilliant, just brilliant!' Tori Amos 'This is a hot read. Bravo Sylvie!' Sharon Osbourne

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Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Books (February 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843544229
• ISBN-13: 978-1843544227
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,529,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, spooky stuff!, November 27, 2004

By 

G. Elliott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Too Weird for Ziggy (Black Cat Series) (Paperback)

These fascinating tales are creepier than Hitchcock and funnier than Wilde. The stories wrapped around the music biz are natural fodder for the famous journalist but the others are even more bizarre and entertaining. Simmons' seamless style and wonderful wit will floor you. This is fiction in the rock'n'roll style!

4.0 out of 5 stars Connect The Dots Rock Starz, June 22, 2005

By 

Duchess (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Too Weird for Ziggy (Black Cat Series) (Paperback)

Second book I've read this summer, although I was some what disappointed with Too Weird For Ziggy it was much better than Lily Burana's STRIP CITY, however it now leaves me to find yet another book to satisfy my summer reading bug. What I felt was annoying was how the snippets would stop short, they never seemed to satisfy the juicy middles. It's a shame because the stories themselves were fab; each one was rich with intriguing plots, colourful personalities and believable wackiness. One chapter I skimmed was "close to you" I found it predictable and excruciating to finish so I skipped it and went on to the next chapter. What I found fun, exciting and a page turner, were the clues Sylvie gives the reader, to making the rock-star connections. What at first I thought were separate identities actually intertwined as the story progressed. Sylvie did such a great job building "pussy" that I sympathized and championed her character throughout the book. I can see this book being turned into a Hollywood Movie cast with well-known controversial celebs for a few quick EZ bucks but unless it was revised it would shortly after be sent to DVD. To the publishers, using the Sharon Osbourne blurb was a sly marketing device as it was what got me to check the book out from the library. All in all, I would recommend this book for a light summer read, it only took several days to finish which is good because I would have been highly upset if I spent more reading time on a book which I felt had quickly rushed endings.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly truetolife stories that only fiction can achieve, March 27, 2005

By 

Leslie Mapp (London UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Too Weird for Ziggy (Black Cat Series) (Paperback)

Terrific stuff. I loved the style, the humour and the thrillingly horrifying atmosphere of madness and chaos that (I'm guessing here), accurately reflects life in the music business. The book has particularly good similes, and has a great sense of comic timing. Naturally, I'm jealous of all these abilities - but not of the world it is set in. After reading the book, I was left wondering if anything would ever be Too Weird for Sylvie!