k.d.lang

by Victoria Starr

[brokentune]

This book has been sitting on my shelf - unread - for years.

The problem I have with biographies - especially biographies about people I already am familiar with - is that I tend to get tired by the authors' attempts to explain everything and give meaning to everything. Quite often this attempt backfires because their interpretation is somewhat removed from plausibility.

This is worse when the author is a fan.

I have no doubt that Victoria Starr was/is a k.d. lang fan, and to this day, her book is probably the most comprehensive biography there is.

The problems I have with the book however are that:

- it contains some glaring factual errors.

- it contains a lot of rumors and speculation that was going around at the time when the book was written.

- it focuses on the music industry and the reported / second-hand information that was available in the media, but doesn't give many details about the sources - which enhances the feeling that a lot of the book is speculation.

- it doesn't go into k.d.'s music much at all. And I would have thought that would be a major part of the biography of a musician.

Also, the book was published in 1994 and is obviously outdated.

Overall, it was an entertaining read, but you have to read this biography with a pinch of salt, like fan-fiction.