[PDF] An American Demon: A Memoir by Jack Grisham at Arts-Photography

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Tough read. glad I stuck with itBy D. K. MaloneIm embarrassed to admit that I had a hard time with this book. TSOL was one of my favorite bands when I got into the scene in 1982. and for the past 10 years or so one of my favorite things has been reading punk rock oral histories and biographies. auto or otherwise. When I found out Jack Grisham had written a book I figured it would be a no-brainer. Its not unusual for one to take me several weeks to finish. because I tend to pick at them here and there rather than read it all in one go. This one was a unique case. though. American Demon took me almost two years to finish.Between the author/narrators in-your-face arrogance. the literally horrifying subject matter. and the fact that I couldnt tell if I was expected to take everything he said to be true or if at least some of it was supposed to be obviously fictional. I found much of the book to be off-putting. I dont know how many times I went back and looked at the front cover to confirm once again that. yep. it says "A memoir" right there. plain as day. But then Id re-read the page 1 disclaimer saying "If you want facts. go read my police records" or something to that effect. I would go months without touching it. Id put it down intending to come back soon. but instead Id end up gradually piling other books and stuff on top of it and only stumble across it ages later. "Oh yeah... I need to finish this." Jack Grisham has always had a reputation for f***ing with people. but some of the stuff in this book made me clutch my pearls. To be clear. ~NOTHING~ makes me clutch my pearls. Its not far from being a non-fiction version of A Clockwork Orange. In fact it may even be worse. since we have no way of knowing the fate of some of the victims in the story. since Jack himself doesnt know. I witnessed and took part in plenty of hell raising in my days in the scene. but... damn. I couldnt reconcile it with the Jack I knew (as an old fan whos read and seen a lot of interviews going way back to early issues of Flipside. I mean... I dont know the man personally.) It wasnt until I happened across a video on Youtube from 2011 where Jack discusses the book that I came to understand. with great relief. where he was actually coming from and what he was going for. (And he clarified that as far as hes concerned all of the events are true. though he did move some around chronologically. and he changed some names.) After that. I was able to appreciate it a lot more and I plowed through the rest of it with no trouble. Ironically. if I had just stuck with it until I reached the final few chapters. that would have solved the issue too. Talk about a character arc. Its a great book and a hell of a ride. I just had no idea what I was getting into.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Stunning Like an Electric ShockBy JenniferAn American Demon was stunning like an electric shock. It was not the narrative memoir I expected. Although it did give me a look inside the southern California 80s Punk scene. it was more of a twisted maze that led me into the center of my own dark heart. At times I could barely read the next sentence. yet the whole time I was reading it I felt irritated by anything that got between me and the next page. Sometimes I slammed the book and felt sick. sometimes I bit my fingernails and felt like a naughty voyeur. And yet....Jack Grisham skillfully led me along. because when he turned suddenly and shone the mirror on me. he pierced me to the core. If by page 294. you have not seen your own demon face. sleep.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. AwesomeBy Danny GA book you will not be able to put down. I wont go into too much detail because its a memoir like no other. I couldnt recommend it highly enough