[DOC] More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon by Stephen Davis at Arts-Photography

Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Some Interesting InsightBy S. L. BlazierAs an avid Carly Simon afficianado since 1971. I avoided buying Stephen Daviss bio of this highly underappreciated musical artist due to abysmal and angry reviews from many fellow fans. but finally succumbed. It is true that much of it is derivative of (and generally better stated by) the Carly chapters of Sheila Wellers more feminist-tinged Girls Like Us. but provided one is a halfway serious Carlyphile. More Room In A Broken Heart has its worth.On the bad side. there are a number of glaring. albeit minor. factual errors that Carlys longtime followers will easily spot. and Daviss long tradition of half-baked writing style is in unfortunate full bloom. It is as though everything this guy writes goes straight from the second draft in his laptop to the printing press. with no editing or fact-checking in between.Subpar writing aside. Carly Simon fans often tend to be excessively protective. and Carly has a history of winkingly providing glimpses of herself and her past to those she knows full well are in the process of writing articles and biographies about her. and then recoiling in what is either feigned indignation or genuine uh-oh-I-told-too-much mortification when the print hits the public eye -- which became the case here. In that regard. Stephen Davis certainly deserves some empathy and leeway. As a family acquaintance going back to the days of the Simon Sisters. its seriously doubtful he set out to do her personal or musical legacy any harm.And why Carlys squeamishness. and the pack of attack dog fans foaming at the mouth over this book? Nothing here is so shocking or terrible. More Room In A Broken Heart manages. albeit minimally. to be a worthwhile read for those who can recognize Carly Simon as merely human. and who are curious as to how her unusual upbringing and sometimes high-profile romantic train wrecks inspired and shaped her amazing music.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Terrific story for "our generation" and the voices that helped shape itBy Catherine ToddI dont know why this book has negative reviews... it presents Ms. Simon in a very positive light and is impossible to put down. Im reading it start to finish without stopping except to eat and (eventually) sleep! Great stories and conversations. gleaned from many different sources. and woven together as if we are in the room having conversations with all. Just a terrific piece of writing about a large number of terrific. creative artists who all. in spite of their individual neuroses. dramas and rivalries. actually live "just like the rest of us." but perhaps they managed to overcome their fears unlike so many of us.Expression and emotions are paramount here and as Carly Simon is from "my musical generation" and I grew up listening to or having personally met many of the participants in the book. it has helped put my own life in perspective given the cultural changes we all grew up in and lived through. successfully or not. Just a fascinating tale. from an excellent piece of writing. It gave me a much better outlook on the performers characters. and what drove them to it. and the fears and anxieties they had to overcome. I had no idea "back in the day" when I met them first-hand. Reading this book changed everything for me. in a most positive way. Thanks!I love music and have played music all my life. I chose NOT to become a "performer" and never wanted my music. my release. my "touch the sky with heaven in it" to become a "job" or a "business." Reading this story made me realize finally. after all these years. that I had made the right choice. But Im so glad that these other artists have shared their many gifts with the rest of the world. Despite so many ups and downs. they all did it to the best of their ability and for that we are all eternally grateful."The world is made by artists. and art makes life worth living." And music makes the world go round!I also posted a comment on an excellent review written by Gabriel. which I am reposting here:"I enjoyed reading your review almost as much as I did reading the book! You wrote:"I did not note at all that the author had a negative attitude towards his subject. In fact. he seemed to respect Carly Simon and her achievements and her loyalty towards the people in her life. The author also sympathized with Carly Simon for all the high level stress she had to endure throughout her life. "I dont know why people were saying so many negative things about the author and saying that he somehow "didnt like" or "disrespected" or "plagiarized" things in the book. The book is researched from many different sources. interviews. articles. events and people "who were there." which makes it so interesting. Theres a lot of ground to cover and its all done very well in chronological order. I enjoyed reading about so many positive qualities that Carly Simon has in this (unauthorized) biography which I was not aware of. The mean-spirited comments here reflect poorly on Carly. in the end. and the people who wrote these mean-spirited reviews.I loved the book and think most people will too."4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Too much nonsense in this book!By Ann Marie CraigIt was suggested to me to read this book after reading Carole Kings "Natural Woman. Ms. King wrote this book herself and told what she wanted to tell. I had no problem with that. however the 1 and 2 star reviewers(and theirs not many) complained about her not being "honest". meaning that she held back not telling everything. This book tells us about many things I dont need to know. I knew about James Taylors drug problem and his romances with other women. but cut the man a break. He has 2 older children with Carley Simon who do not need to relive episodes in their lives that happened(or maybe didnt happen) years ago. He has young twin sons who dont need to hear about this either. Tell me the meaning behind the songs. Tell me about how she met James Taylor. Tell me who "Youre So Vain" is about. I dont need to know that James Taylor wasnt at the hospital when his son was ill. I dont need to know that Carley threw it in his face that SHE DID have an affair with Mick Jagger when they were in London. After reading this book and these reviews. it made me appreciate Ms. Kings book even more. Carley Simon needs to write her own biography if she chooses to do so. She shouldnt feel pressure to do this. She needs to want to do it. and not as a response to this book. Carley. do whats in your heart! And hello if you read these reviews and put people up to writing those bad reviews!