Book Review Outside Reading: November 15

Book Review Outside Reading

“Stray Cat Blues” by Liz Phair

The New York Times November 4, 2010

            In “Stray Cat Blues,” Liz Phair offers a generous review of Keith Richards’ autobiography, Life.  Phair seems to really admire Richards and excuses most of his mistakes, but is careful to not overlook all of his flaws; thus her review is fairly objective.  However she is careful in the techniques she chooses to use and is therefore able to convince the reader to highly esteem both Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones.

            Phair deconstructs Richards’ life in a way that explains most of his life choices, and is thus able to displace a lot of the negativity synonymous with a musician’s lifestyle.  She does so by choosing positive diction such as “avatar,” “legendary,” and “underdog.”  This is her main strength: Phair’s word choice and use of biographical criticism allow her to portray Richards as a relatively respectable individual, despite his promiscuity and addiction to cocaine.  She is careful to also note that he had affairs with two of his band mates’ girlfriends, and faults him for this choice.  However, it only takes one paragraph for Phair to shift back to her original tone of admiration and reverence.  She paints Richards’ life as glamorous and paints Richards himself as dedicated and committed.  As a result, she is able to offer a surprisingly positive critique of Richards and his autobiography.

            This review’s weakness, on the other hand, is the informal tone that Phair adopts.  She is able to capture Richards’ sense of humor by recreating it in her own piece, but she is so informal that the review loses its validity.  Phair refers to Richards by his first name, swears, and is openly sarcastic and stereotypical.  After describing Richards’ involvement in the Boy Scouts of America program, she offers a disclaimer to the reader.  “For parents keen on enrolling their children in wholesome activities to secure a respectable future and avoid exactly what became of Keith Richards, keep in mind: he was a choirboy, too” (2).  Although funny, this stereotype is a discredit to Phair.  By adopting such a common tone, she undermines her own status as a professional; she seems to be critiquing Richards’ autobiography as a friend and not as a journalist for The New York Times.  As a result, I responded skeptically to her review.  This informality would definitely be inappropriate for an AP essay.