Tag: Literary Merit

Bob Dylan – Chronicles: Volume One | Review

Title: Chronicles: Volume One

Author: Bob Dylan

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 296

Rating: 4*/5

 

Bob Dylan - Chronicles: Volume One

Bob Dylan – Chronicles: Volume One

 

This book is an interesting little read, because it’s Bob Dylan’s autobiography and the man has an impressive writing style that communicates his voice just as well as his songs do. It puts an interesting spin on the whole ‘celebrity autobiography‘ thing, because Dylan’s words have literary merit in their own right. In fact, didn’t he get awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?

His writing style is reminiscent of (and inspired by) the Beat poets, who were active at the same time that Dylan was starting out. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a photo somewhere of Dylan hanging out with Allen Ginsberg. But Dylan’s voice is easier, more friendly – like listening to a friend as you sit around a fire drinking cans of beer.

It’s also interesting how he approached it. It’s a true memoir, jumping backwards and forwards through time as the author follows different trains of thought but maintaining a steady narrative throughout despite this. And I find it entertaining that it’s volume one, even though no volume two has been released to date. I wonder whether he’s still working on it, or whether this is the best that we’re going to get.

Overall, this probably won’t mean much to the average person, but if you’re a Bob Dylan fan – or a fan of music in general – then there are few better reads for getting such an intriguing insight. It’s fascinating to see behind the creative process and to learn more about what makes him tick. The Daily Telegraph went so far as to call it “the most extraordinarily intimate autobiography by a twentieth-century legend ever written”. I agree with them.

 

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

 

Click here to buy Chronicles: Volume One.


Agatha Christie – While the Light Lasts | Review

Title: While the Light Lasts

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 213

Rating: 8/10

 

Agatha Christie - While the Light Lasts

Agatha Christie – While the Light Lasts

 

While the Light Lasts is an excellent collection of some of Agatha Christie’s finest short stories, all of which were previously published between 1923 and 1932, during one of Christie’s most prolific and commercially successful periods. Each of these stories is worth reading on literary merit alone, but some are more interesting than others.

Manx Gold, in particular, stands out as one of Christie’s more interesting pieces, written on commission for the Isle of Man. The story contains coded references to the locations of four snuffboxes that were actually hidden on the island, each of which contained a voucher for £100 – quite a lot of money at the time, and hardly to be sneezed at today.

Crossovers like these are rare for even the most inventive of writers, but it’s unusual for Christie to have taken on such an ambitious undertaking. But while Manx Gold might be interesting because of its real-life crossover, the rest of the stories should not be overlooked – Christie is a fantastic writer, and this collection is a subtle reminder of why they call her the Queen of Crime. Excellent work, from the pen of a legendary great.

 

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

 

Click here to buy While the Light Lasts.