Being Young
by Astrid Young
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Book Summary Information
Author: Astrid YoungEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN: 189717845X
Number of pages: 284
Publisher: Insomniac Press
Book Reviews of Being Young
Book Review: A Sleeper
Summary: 5 Stars
You may start into this book thinking that you have stumbled upon an unfortunate example of a book written by the sibling of a world superstar, trying to grab for herself a little piece of the big time. But by the time you finish it, and I hope that you do, you'll have changed your mind.
Astrid Young, half-sister of the legendary Neil Young and sixteen years his junior, has carved out, in "Being Young," her own rightful place in American, and Canadian, culture. The writing is certainly inconsistent, however, as one continues through the book, the literary quirkiness actually becomes a part of its, and her, charm. I had recently read Jim McDonough's "Shakey: Neil Young's Biography." McDonough's lengthy (786 p.) tome covers the gamut, includes many hours of Neil Young interviews, more foul language than one may have thought could be fitted into a single book (but hey, hey, my, my [sorry] 99% of it was in the form of direct quotes), and an immense amount of fascinating behind the scenes stuff that both enraged and endeared the reader to the great singer/songwriter/musician. And as Astrid Young states quite clearly, her book was in no way intended to add more to the Neil Young lore per se.
"Being Young" is two books, in many ways. She weaves an almost self-centered and at times immature tell-all, with IMHO a very real personal take on the world in her time: the deep beauty and craziness that can be found in California, dropping in and out of the Neil Young touring empire, life on the road, the innocence of starting out anew in America with hopes for her own performing career, personal hurts about which she shows remarkable candor, and ultimately returning to her roots in Canada.
There are places in the book where I wished that Ms. Young would have provided the reader with a few hints as to the insider lingo in the music- and wine-businesses, but if I want to I can always go look some of that stuff up myself. I also found it fascinating that she seemed perfectly willing to name names (and call some of these people names) with abandon. Hope that none of them are too spiteful....
Graham Greene, as I recall, said, about art, (and I paraphrase here) the important question really is, "out of what sort of life does it arise?". [Greene's biography itself is entitled "A Sort of Life."] As I was heading into the home stretch with Astrid Young's book, Greene's idea kept popping into my mind. So, what sort of person was I reading here? Astrid Young seems like the type of person I would like to know as a friend, someone I could trust, someone who may be a tad rough around the edges, but someone who is, without a doubt, very real.
Yes, I'm a big Neil Young fan. I'm now also a fan of his sister, Astrid Young.
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