About book (Big Man By Clemons, Clarence)Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales[Paperback] On 22 Nov 2010 (2000)
It's really hard to review a memoir, especially a memoir one reads so soon after the subject's death, so I'm not exactly objective about this book. As memoirs go, however, I found this one well-written and really clever. There's a tendency for memoirs to present themselves so matter-of-factly that the reader can't help questioning the veracity of the stories they contain, but these authors announce up front that half of the book is made up (the greyed-out pages), and that makes the "true" bits easier to swallow in comparison. The grey "legends" are all fascinating short stories unto themselves, mostlyfictionalized meetings between Clarence and other celebrities, and the true parts give a fantastic glimpse into the late, great heart of the E Street Band.A few caveats: 1.) It gets progressively harder to read this book as it moves on and tells stories of more recent years. Clarence starts to talk about mortality at length -- and his desire to live a long, happy life with his new wife in the face of it. Knowing he died only a few years after the publication of this memoir makes these parts of the books truly heartbreaking.2.) While I credit co-writer Don Reo, a TV writer/producer, with much of the lovely prose in the book, any time he talks about himself and his own experiences and career the book becomes absolutely tedious. Somehow Clarence's namedropping always seems fun and tongue-in-cheek, while Reo's namedropping just comes across as obnoxious and self-important. He seems like the kind of guy who would be insufferable in real life.3.) I found myself uncomfortable with some homophobic and misogynistic language and anecdotes sprinkled throughout; were this fiction, some of that may have been enough to make me put the book aside. But since this is a portrait of a real person, I could mostly excuse them as part of an honest drawing of a man, warts and all. YMMV.All in all, though, this was a great read, and I'm very glad I picked it up. RIP, Big Man Why does one read a rock and roll memoir? For larger than life stories and insights into the music, mostly. This had a lot of the former, less of the latter. It had a bizarre format, jumping through time and space like Billy Pilgrim. Clarence and his co-writer, his best friend Don Reo, alternate stories. There was a lot of emphasis on the pain that the Big Man has been playing through in the last few years (knee replacements, hip replacements, bad back). At first I was a little annoyed at the front-and-center nature of Don Reo's narrative. He's a big name-dropper, and he spent a lot of time telling stories of his own about showbiz people unrelated to Clarence Clemons. After a while I began to appreciate the thing he did offer, which was a chance to tell the story from an observer's perspective as well as the first-person. Thus we get Clarence talking about the great feeling on stage, and Don telling the story of how Clarence had to arrive on stage via wheelchair and he couldn't believe the guy then stood up and played for three hours. The backstage stories mostly involve the number of people it takes to put the Big Man together for long enough to play a show these days.Interspersed between the time-jumping stories there are tall tales, told on gray paper to differentiate them from the truth. These stories contribute to his larger than life persona, and sometimes tell more about him than the more everyday anecdotes. Clemons comes across as a jokester, a great friend, a guy who knows how to be rich, and a teller of stories that should be true, even if they aren't. I do have to say that he comes across as a bit of a misogynist, of the type that loves women and marries them serially, but doesn't speak to many that he respects. I think there are only one or two sentences uttered by women in the whole book, and of all the celebrity names dropped the only female is Annie Leibowitz, and her story is one of the fabrications. Putting that aside, it's a good read and a great contribution to his legend.
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What can i say........5 stars for fans of the Boss & the Big Man 1 star fro the rest of the world!
—Missy
THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ.....THANK YOU BIG MAN FOR THE GREATEST STORY EVERY WRITTEN!!!
—magiqa
If you are a Springsteen fan, or an E Street fan, or both, this book is a must. RIP Big Man.
—Gaby
FANTASTIC. Tall Tales are real stories about growing up and joining the E-Street band.
—shaziaahmed
