Let me begin by saying that I am a massive Prince fan. There is no celebrity on the planet that I admire more. So I enjoy reading about Prince and finding out new information.
I also am touch and go with reading biographies. I find they can be very well written, or appallingly written – there is nothing in between. I am very happy to say that this particular biography was well written. Rather than being a chronological recount of Prince’s life, each chapter instead focuses on a component of it. A chapter on his lyrics, a chapter on his musicianship, a chapter on his relentless work ethic etc. I found this style incredibly informative, easy to read and interesting. I have read many biographies that are chronological (they are fine) or ones where it feels as though the author is just writing down random thoughts that pops into his/her mind without any logical order.
This book provides a great insight into Prince, without exploiting him. It thoroughly analyses his music and his journey, allowing people to have a greater understanding of him with what he allowed the world to see. It maintains Prince’s privacy, which any true Prince fan will appreciate.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very well written and constructed, gave more insight into Prince through deconstructing his output all the while maintaining his integrity and privacy.
My only criticism is a factual error where the author credits Prince with being on a particular show when in fact he was not, it was just an actor portraying him. Despite this, a fabulous read, 5 stars.
