The buzz on More Room in a Broken Heart, Stephen Davis’ unauthorized biography of pop-music staple of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Carly Simon, was pretty bleak, but as a longtime fan of Simon and first husband James Taylor, I felt compelled to take a look at this first attempt to explore her life in book-length form.
.
Alas, I should have heeded before jumping. More Room (subtitled The True Adventures of Carly Simon) is one of the lazier nonfiction efforts I’ve encountered in a while, with Davis brazenly structuring the book around previously published material, without notes or bibliography, nor acknowledgments or attributions, beyond just a “thanks to the great journalists who covered the Carly Simon story in the past.” You can add pedestrian writing and factual errors to the mix, and the only original content comes via the author’s analysis of the Simon song library — album by album — and this is none too incisive, either.
A shame actually, because I was looking forward to a more deserving
examination of Simon’s life and work, for myself and many others who remember the glory years of the artist responsible for such defining standards of the singer/songwriter era as “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be,” “Anticipation,” and of course, “You’re So Vain.” In her personal life, Simon shared a stormy, creative, and utterly fascinating relationship with the iconic troubadour James Taylor (their marriage lasted 11 years), and her childhood background as the daughter of publishing magnate Richard Simon (of Simon & Schuster) provides even more color to an already riveting life story. (It’s not every kid who has memories of Rodgers and Hammerstein coming over to the house to play the piano.)
Article comments
1 - William
This is the first accurate review I have read of this 'BIO'
INDEED! I'd love to read more about the creation of the music and the life circumstances that lead to the songs than RE-reading passages from books, articles and magazines I have read over the years.
CARLY! Write ON!
Google Troubadour Tribune if you want the REAL lowdown on this book.