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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Kristin Hersh was a preternaturally bright teenager, starting university at fifteen and with her band, Throwing Muses, playing rock clubs she was too young to frequent. By the age of seventeen she was living in her car, unable to sleep for the torment of strange songs swimming around her head - the songs for which she is now known. But just as her band was taking off, Hersh was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Paradoxical Undressing chronicles the unraveling of a young woman's personality, culminating in a suicide attempt; and then her arduous yet inspiring recovery, her unplanned pregnancy at the age of 19, and the birth of her first son. Playful, vivid, and wonderfully warm, this is a visceral and brave memoir by a truly original performer, told in a truly original voice.
About the Author
Kristin Hersh is an American songwriter and guitarist. She founded the seminal art-punk band Throwing Muses at age fourteen and is widely recognized as an indie rock pioneer. She is a mother of four, and lives in New Orleans.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Bought this book in a kindle format, so no comments from me on inappropriate cover image, but FIY there's an annoying number of i's and r's missing from words in it.
I didn't know anything about Kristin Hersh before I got this book, I just saw a brief review in a newspaper about it and it stuck in my head, so I got it before I went on a weekend getaway.
It's superbly well written, difficult to put down and is basically the kind of book you find yourself reading in the middle of the night trying not to wake anyone with your laughter. It's not always about funny things, but Kristin's take on the events in her life can be hilarious. Intermittently you find bits of song lyrics and a sort of little stories that describe how she's feeling at the time.
Since reading it, I got Throwing Muses' first album, which is lovely. Hasn't converted me into a die hard fan, but certainly has given me an entrance point into their music.
Highly recommended.
I didn't know anything about Kristin Hersh before I got this book, I just saw a brief review in a newspaper about it and it stuck in my head, so I got it before I went on a weekend getaway.
It's superbly well written, difficult to put down and is basically the kind of book you find yourself reading in the middle of the night trying not to wake anyone with your laughter. It's not always about funny things, but Kristin's take on the events in her life can be hilarious. Intermittently you find bits of song lyrics and a sort of little stories that describe how she's feeling at the time.
Since reading it, I got Throwing Muses' first album, which is lovely. Hasn't converted me into a die hard fan, but certainly has given me an entrance point into their music.
Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The artist's struggle with mental illness is well trodden literary territory, but this memoir avoids the common clichés. There's no trace of nostalgia, mawkishness, self-pity or bitterness; neither does the author attempt to draw any predictable conclusions or proffer worthy insights on her experiences of mania. Throughout the book the protagonist remains fundamentally grounded, and even during the most psychologically turbulent episodes her descriptions are prosaic, curious, analytical, sometimes almost clinically detached.
By contrast many of the other characters in her world appear far stranger: a deluded painter varnishes unfortunate lizards for his art; a creepy obsessive fan waits on the doorstep clutching a sinister postcard and a flower; vintage Hollywood star Betty Hutton drinks pond scum in an effort to lose weight; even Joseph Campbell turns out to harbour an unreasonable hatred of dogs. Unusually for a musician's memoir, all of her band members are almost unbelievably sweet and unassuming, but no-one attracts anything more than bemusement or playful criticism. Though Hersh's family appear only on the periphery (perhaps a little too much so for the reader) her relationships are beautifully observed, warm, funny and affectionate.
Comparisons with The Bell Jar are inevitable but lazy: although superficially similar, this is a very different book. It may not top your holiday reading list (as you'd expect, some passages make for uncomfortable reading) but Paradoxical Undressing is a well crafted, moving and surprisingly uplifting account of a short, pivotal chapter in someone's life.
By contrast many of the other characters in her world appear far stranger: a deluded painter varnishes unfortunate lizards for his art; a creepy obsessive fan waits on the doorstep clutching a sinister postcard and a flower; vintage Hollywood star Betty Hutton drinks pond scum in an effort to lose weight; even Joseph Campbell turns out to harbour an unreasonable hatred of dogs. Unusually for a musician's memoir, all of her band members are almost unbelievably sweet and unassuming, but no-one attracts anything more than bemusement or playful criticism. Though Hersh's family appear only on the periphery (perhaps a little too much so for the reader) her relationships are beautifully observed, warm, funny and affectionate.
Comparisons with The Bell Jar are inevitable but lazy: although superficially similar, this is a very different book. It may not top your holiday reading list (as you'd expect, some passages make for uncomfortable reading) but Paradoxical Undressing is a well crafted, moving and surprisingly uplifting account of a short, pivotal chapter in someone's life.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
You probably already know but if you don't this is the same text as Rat Girl with a groovy hardcover and some cool art. Buy this for preference I guess. Wish I knew this was available before buying the softback. A wonderful, enchanting and often funny read in any format. Shame I'm probably preaching to the converted.
If you're undecided and think it sounds interesting I urge you to take a chance and plunge in.
If you're undecided and think it sounds interesting I urge you to take a chance and plunge in.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Kristen Hersh
This book is based on songwriter Hersh's diary from the late 1980s yet it reads like a novel. Having appreciated Hersh's music for over twenty years, I could be a bit biased but I... Read more
Published 12 months ago by N. Caven
Fish Jesus and Betty
Feeling priviledged today to blast along the coast road with Throwing Muses' first album playing, having been let into the sweat, graft, fear and joy that made those songs. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Melissa
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