Guest Review: 'Girls Like Us' by Sheila Weller
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon-and the Journey of a GenerationBy Sheila Weller
ISBN-10: 0743491475
ISBN-13: 978-0743491471
Hardcover, 592 pages
April 8, 2008
Atria
Reviewed by Cynthia Murphy
Sheila Weller’s Girls Like Us is the story of women who rock- specifically Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. It is surprisingly addictive, especially for such an ambitious work of nonfiction. The subtitle promises “the journey of a generation”. I don’t know if that part is totally accurate, but it does present the lives of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon in amazing detail.
Weller has taken the stories of these music legends and woven them together into a fascinating look at both musical and cultural history. Each woman’s story is presented in great detail with quotations from numerous sources. This was clearly a labor of love for Weller. Her meticulous research leads to multi-faceted looks at each artist.
While all three women are very different, they share many personal similarities. Perhaps the strongest common bond is the tendency toward dysfunctional relationships with men. Despite their professional success, King, Mitchell, and Simon tend to attract difficult men. Their relationships are often tumultuous, but this does seem to lead to great music. During periods of personal peace, their work seems to stagnate, but periods of turmoil have led to some of their biggest hits.
I have to admit that I am not in the target audience for Girls Like Us. It is clearly aimed at the baby boomer market, particularly the female segment. That being said, I really enjoyed it. Any true music fan will find this book interesting. One of my only complaints is the tendency to romanticize the impact of the boomer generation. In several instances, Weller seems to digress from the main story to talk about how the women of this generation really changed the world. This seems to occur most frequently in the portions devoted to Carly Simon. Ironically, Simon has the most traditional life of the three. These digressions seem a bit annoying to me, but they would definitely hit the mark for the target audience.
My other complaint is the slight bias toward Joni Mitchell. It feels like she is a particular favorite of Weller’s, and therefore placed on a pedestal. Clearly, Mitchell did not choose the route of commercial success that King and Simon pursued. At times, it sounds like Weller is almost treating King and Simon as sellouts. This feeling comes from lines such as “she never lost her artist’s soul.” All three women have had a huge impact on music, regardless of their commercial success.
The structure of Girls Like Us is exquisite. Weller opens the book with the “overture”. This chapter presents a defining moment for each woman. For Carole King of Sheepshead Bay, it was the moment she changed her surname from “Klein” to “King”. For Joni Anderson (soon-to-be) Mitchell, it was her brief stint in a Toronto folk club just before she gave birth to her daughter. And for Carly Simon, that defining moment was when she dared herself to perform at the Troubadour. Each tiny moment set the woman on a course that would change her life forever as well as music history. After the course is set, Weller tells each woman’s story from the beginning. Then she ties everything together in her “coda.” I really liked the musical terminology for these sections. It is a nice touch.
I learned a great deal about all three women. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea just how many hits of the 1960s that Carole King had written. The number of hit songs attributed to her is staggering. The story of Joni Mitchell and her daughter is both fascinating and heartbreaking at times. I also learned quite a bit about Carly Simon. I did not know that she had a hit song with her older sister before her successful solo career. The music world in the mid to late twentieth century was also a surprisingly small place. These women crossed paths with so many of the same people. About halfway through the book, I was really starting to wonder why no one has started a “6 Degrees of Carole King” game. It seems that she worked with or wrote for almost everyone in the music business during this time.
Girls Like Us should be on the must-read list for any music fan. It also offers an interesting snapshot of American life during the tumultuous years of the mid twentieth century. Weller has done a great job of weaving the stories together and including cultural history as well. Overall, it is definitely worth reading.
Weller has taken the stories of these music legends and woven them together into a fascinating look at both musical and cultural history. Each woman’s story is presented in great detail with quotations from numerous sources. This was clearly a labor of love for Weller. Her meticulous research leads to multi-faceted looks at each artist.
While all three women are very different, they share many personal similarities. Perhaps the strongest common bond is the tendency toward dysfunctional relationships with men. Despite their professional success, King, Mitchell, and Simon tend to attract difficult men. Their relationships are often tumultuous, but this does seem to lead to great music. During periods of personal peace, their work seems to stagnate, but periods of turmoil have led to some of their biggest hits.
I have to admit that I am not in the target audience for Girls Like Us. It is clearly aimed at the baby boomer market, particularly the female segment. That being said, I really enjoyed it. Any true music fan will find this book interesting. One of my only complaints is the tendency to romanticize the impact of the boomer generation. In several instances, Weller seems to digress from the main story to talk about how the women of this generation really changed the world. This seems to occur most frequently in the portions devoted to Carly Simon. Ironically, Simon has the most traditional life of the three. These digressions seem a bit annoying to me, but they would definitely hit the mark for the target audience.
My other complaint is the slight bias toward Joni Mitchell. It feels like she is a particular favorite of Weller’s, and therefore placed on a pedestal. Clearly, Mitchell did not choose the route of commercial success that King and Simon pursued. At times, it sounds like Weller is almost treating King and Simon as sellouts. This feeling comes from lines such as “she never lost her artist’s soul.” All three women have had a huge impact on music, regardless of their commercial success.
The structure of Girls Like Us is exquisite. Weller opens the book with the “overture”. This chapter presents a defining moment for each woman. For Carole King of Sheepshead Bay, it was the moment she changed her surname from “Klein” to “King”. For Joni Anderson (soon-to-be) Mitchell, it was her brief stint in a Toronto folk club just before she gave birth to her daughter. And for Carly Simon, that defining moment was when she dared herself to perform at the Troubadour. Each tiny moment set the woman on a course that would change her life forever as well as music history. After the course is set, Weller tells each woman’s story from the beginning. Then she ties everything together in her “coda.” I really liked the musical terminology for these sections. It is a nice touch.
I learned a great deal about all three women. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea just how many hits of the 1960s that Carole King had written. The number of hit songs attributed to her is staggering. The story of Joni Mitchell and her daughter is both fascinating and heartbreaking at times. I also learned quite a bit about Carly Simon. I did not know that she had a hit song with her older sister before her successful solo career. The music world in the mid to late twentieth century was also a surprisingly small place. These women crossed paths with so many of the same people. About halfway through the book, I was really starting to wonder why no one has started a “6 Degrees of Carole King” game. It seems that she worked with or wrote for almost everyone in the music business during this time.
Girls Like Us should be on the must-read list for any music fan. It also offers an interesting snapshot of American life during the tumultuous years of the mid twentieth century. Weller has done a great job of weaving the stories together and including cultural history as well. Overall, it is definitely worth reading.
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2 comments:
Definitely sounds like one I'd like! Thanks for the review.
I'm with Carol. Great review also.
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