The OFFICIAL Stewart's book thread: SPOILER

[giovanni]

As suggested by some of you, this place is for the ones who already got the book and already started reading it; if you don't have the book yet, you won't probably like reading about who already have it, and giving opinions on one chapter or another already read; at the end of the day it's up to each one of you to read comments if you own or do not own yet the book; the thing is, this is the official thread to talk about the book, but I had to put the SPOILER word on the subject just to clarify.

Now, let me say that it's a fantastic reading for me, I love the way Stewart is so open, so sincere in writing about all his adventures outside The Police and I absolutely LOVE his ironic and funny way to describe his personal world; I guess there is enough to let fans have a big laugh, as well as to deeply understand his attitude towards the success in his life.
I consider some of the highlights the chapters about the Police Reunion, the Grateful Dad (that's so funny, so funny), the Rhythmatist tale, so full of details, and the early days in the MIddle East, but I'm sure each one of us may choose different chapters as they are all so full of details and 'so full of Stewart'. A great reading.
I can also tell that after reading it, now I know a little bit more about playing polo and some more about horses...ehehe!
Stewart is very happy to see that the reviews coming out are definitely positive, almost impressed about the feedback coming from the media and I'm sure more positive reviews will come out very soon as well.
Have a good reading.

[smax]

i've loved it.... smudge described it as a selective biography, which you've gotta agree with.. it feels like much more than just dinner tales in a hardback, tho... an excellent read even for someone like me who may have devoured every book about the band that he was once in.. well done on keeping me hooked, m8.

loved the polo and oysterhead chapters; there seemed to be more passion described which in turn allowed / encouraged Stewart to express more about how he felt and saw rather than just what happened... those chapters (and the flag one. yay! this one's for you kel) just leapt from the page and pulled me in all at the same time.....yes GIo, there are lots of good reviews too, Stewart should be v proud.

[Kim]

Say what? How did some people get it already?

[conroy]

There was a signing in London last week. And I got mine at the O2 arena this past Saturday where they had them on sale with the Ben Hur Live merchandise at the show.

[Pre-Legacy A152]

I read half of it on the way home on the plane , and my seat-mate commented that he's
never seen someone not even budge from her seat for nearly 9 hours on a transatantic flight!

I should have guessed it would be laugh out loud funny ! And the passages describing playing
defense against HRH Prince Charles himself in polo matches are so witty , his dismay over what
happened to the homeland of his youth is touching, the insights into how difficult it was to be
in the Police are painful to read but educational, and i loved getting to know what things
are really dear to Stewart.

As he leaps around chronolically, im hoping that somewhere he will describe what it was like to
record with Peter Gabriel, and what happened to the tracks he recorded with Sir Paul
McCartney in the 80's , such a patchwork quilt of multiple careers that he's enjoyed, the
extremely clever sausage ...!

There's something in it for everyone, Police-fans, Drum gearheads, polo jocks, songwriters, dads,
children-of-spies..(!), you name it - Cant wait to finish-
Sandy

[DirtyMartini]

That bit about kicking Charles's ass tickled me to no end. Definitely one of my favorite laughs.

[secretjourneyranch]

Is there really only 10-12 pages on the early Police?

Has he forgotten?

(I haven't read it...this is how the TOC reads)

[Pre-Legacy A152]

That's about right - the chapter called "A quick history of the Police" is line by line
the narration at the end of the "Everyone Stares" DVD verbatim-surprising! - -
But recollections from early Police days are interspersed in the 17 chapters
or so at the end that cover the Reunion period -
330 pages,approx 100 black and white photos -

[secretjourneyranch]

Wow

It would have been nice to compare the memories from different points of view.
I guess I'll have to be happy with the audio commentary from ES.

And of course I'll still get the book...

[giovanni]

Yes, just a few memories of The Police, but he always wanted to do a book about his life outside The Police world, that he considers way more interesting; probably The Police era was so covered by many interviews and what he always said and keep on saying in inteviews that there isn't too much to tell more than what he already said.

[sockii]

I haven't read it yet but I'm actually tickled and immensely pleased to know so little time is devoted to Police "ancient history". We've all read and seen it discussed at length elsewhere and I had the feeling that "Everyone Stares" was pretty much Stewart's statement on that time period. I'm much more avid to read about everything else!

(and yes I am a spoiler whore so of course I'm reading here before getting the book in my dirty hands)

[DirtyMartini]

[Sorry: holding forth.]

I must say that the early Police parts (or lack thereof) is where I must very much dissent. Not because I think the book needs more Police for Police's sake (I, too, am more interested in the other stuff), but because from a narrative standpoint, there is gaping hole in the story that never gets filled.

(Spoilers galore approaching, so if you don't want to know, look away now.)

In my opinion (and since this is all my opinion, I'm going to let that one instance stand for everything I say), the opening section of the book is the weakest: it reads as the most rushed and the least developed; the chronology is often messy; the first chapter letter is an unwelcome tack-on. (Wardrobe is such a strong opening chapter, and now it's watered down by an oh-shit-I-better-explain-some-stuff bit in front. Even the advertising is built around Wardrobe as the opening. What happened?) But even though the opening section can be pretty rough and tumble, parts are really well done (the waxing poetic about music is lovely, the hilarious Klark Kent chapter), and once you hit section 2, Stewart really hits his stride.

But the Police parts of the first section are a lot of throwaway material: Tagging is cute but generally pointless; KK is wonderful, but presented without a real sense of the larger context; the ES:TPIO narration doesn't get past 1978 (and is rather Oh, Honey, No); and then in the turn of the page, the band is over.

The actual Police part of the Police? Pfft.

Now I know that our poor correspondent has already trod the early Police ground many, many, many times over. I know that books are long and hard and take up a crapload of time. On that, Stewart Copeland has my respect and sympathy. But as a reader of Strange Things Happen, well, honestly, I gotta say, Tough. I'm not reading Everyone Stares; I'm not reading Copeland interviews: I'm reading this here book in my hand. This book needs to tell me what I need to know in order to fully understand it. But on this subject, it doesn't.

Had the Police been minor, it wouldn't matter: a reader could chalk it up to one of the many cute anecdotes and move on. But the early Police is vital to understanding the late Police, and the late Police takes up the entire last section of the book. Flying through childhood, skipping over Animal Logic: that's fine; those details don't affect the overall story. But the Police does. The problem isn't that there isn't enough early Police to satisfy Police fans (that's a non-issue to me). The problem is that there isn't enough early Police to satisfy the reader's understanding of the rest of the book.

The most memorable lines in the whole book for me were, "When I was a kid this band was all that I knew. It could crush me. But now I know better." Those words are powerful: they're personal, they're honest, and they're affecting. But we never see it: we never see the band crush him; we never see why; we never see how. In order to really get the last section (as well as a lot of asides and chapters throughout), you have to understand who the band is and why they matter, in particular from Stewart's point of view. But it's not in there.

The book reads as if it assumes that every reader will be not just a Police fan, but a pretty well-read one. And yes, the Police are, of course, the biggest selling point. But by making that assumption, it limits its audience and makes the information less full, less clear, and less strong than it could be for those that remain.

It wouldn't have taken much. We don't need a whole section on the early Police: with less than 10 pages (maybe 5 even) of genuine content added, Stewart could have summed up the Police from his perspective and thereby given the rest of the book something to build upon. Yes, I know that's easy for me to say, and that writing is long and hard and time-consuming. But this is one hell of a book. It's intelligent, it's funny, it's bizarre; it goes places few people have been. It's not a typical memoir/biography, it's certainly not a typical musician's (and especially drummer's) memoir/biography; and it's accessible to many different kinds of readers. It's a ballsy experiment in style, it's told in an unusual voice, and the damn thing smacks all around of unique-itude.

But that absence of early material weakens what follows. IMO, the book is poured without a solid foundation, and that is what keeps a good book from becoming great.

[Thank you.]



ETA: Also, thank you to dafttart for sending me a UK copy, and thank you to Stewart for the signature.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

Hm. You know, you're right, DM...but what can I say. I guess...whatever I say isn't going to convey my utter joy at the tome I held in my hands earlier in the evening. I absolutely, absurdly love it. Am kinda glad I hadn't read it at the book signing, actually, since I'd have babbled and gibbered.

I'm not 100% through my second reading; skimmed in London but wouldn't let myself really sit and take it in, since I had other stuff to do. But on the re-examine, It's exactly - exactly - the book I wanted to read. It's precisely what I hoped it would be after having become, well, re-hooked on Stewart after reading his hilarious send-up of the editors at Small Town, TN newspaper back in 2006 (before the Oysterhead gig @ Bonnaroo).

I'm a bit dead tired at the end of a long day so I'm not going to go plumbing for quotes right now, but it's insightful, it's funny, it's smart - and what I like most: it's joyous. You get the sense this guy has a great life and is just dying to tell us all about it. And he thinks WE'RE enthusiastic. Well...there's a phrase in politics about the fish rotting from the head down...

You're right about it losing some appeal for a wider audience without loads of Police material, of course. But how many times have we sat here and reminded ourselves that some Police or Stewart product was designed with the wider audience in mind...I'm selfishly enjoying not having to do that this time. This thing almost reads like it were written especially for the denizens of a small but deserving website.

OK, more later when I can conjugate better. Man, this is gonna be almost as much fun as the book itself: reading everyone's take on it.

[conroy]

[quote="Divemistress of the Dark" This thing almost reads like it were written especially for the denizens of a small but deserving website. [/quote]

That's been my sentiment thus far (almost finished it). DM makes some great points and I'd be curious to know what the casual Police fan who hasn't really been following Stewart like we have thinks of The Book.

[DirtyMartini]

[ETA cuz I screwed up earlier:]

[quote="Divemistress of the Dark"]You're right about it losing some appeal for a wider audience without loads of Police material, of course.[/quote]

I'm thinking less in terms of appeal than in understanding. If someone comes to the book because he or she was a fan of JTTOU or soundtracks or Spyro or Ben Hur, or even came at it without being a fan of anything Copeland but rather because it was recommended or they saw a review (in other words, someone that doesn't have the background knowledge that a lot of us dorks have), I'm not sure they can fully understand what's going on with just what's provided. There's info inside Stewart's head that didn't make it to the page that I think would have been beneficial.


[quote="Divemistress of the Dark"]what I like most: it's joyous.[/quote]

Absolutely agree. My concerns in regards to others' earlier comments aside, I found that I could not help but read with a big dumb smile on my face -- often while shaking my head and wondering how in the hell Stewart could have gotten himself into such a mess. (Which makes him sound a bit like a comic strip character . . .) I really like how a couple of the stories that were started here on SC.net are fleshed out (though I'm waiting to see who first points out one notable alteration in one) -- and I never thought I could be so amused reading about polo. Or opera. (The applause metering: awesome. And so true.)