Love, Janis by Laura Joplin Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Love, Janis
Book Review: Love this book
Summary: 4 Stars
I appreciate the intimate details and personal history written in this book. While most books about Janis Joplin deal on the music and concert scene, this book is at the personal level of those who loved her best. If you are not a Janis fan, this book may have more detail than you want. But, for anyone who is a Janis fan, this book is a great read and I am glad her sister wrote it!Book Review: Loved it.
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought this book was outstanding. Not only does it give good insight on what made Janis tick, it gave a very indepth history of the hippie movement from it's earliest conception. I found it fascinating.Book Review: Nice to hear Janis's story told by family
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm currently reading Myra Freidman's "Buried Alive" biography of Janis, and I recently read "Love, Janis." These biographies are similar only in that they share the same subject; in every other sense, they are entirely different and tell Janis's story from two different lights. "Buried Alive" focuses on Janis's later solo career (fittingly enough, as Myra Freidman was her publicist the last three years of Janis's life) and we get to see the career-oriented side of Janis; we also get to see how Janis interacted with her friends (and "friends"), how Janis reacted to certain situations in both her career and personal life, and we get to see a very honest, truthful (and that means not always positive) portrayal of Janis as a person: her mood swings, her battles with drugs and alcohol, her constant need for reassurance. However, in "Love, Janis," we get to see more of the softer side of Janis, not to mention a much fuller history of Janis's childhood and adolescence, including letters Janis wrote home throughout her career. I think it's important to read each of these biographies because they each show different aspects of Janis, Myra's book giving us a full, well-painted portrait of who Janis really was as a person and how she felt about her career and singing -- ("What if they find out I really can't sing!" Myra quotes her saying) -- and Laura's book painting a much softer picture of Janis and focusing more on her relationship with her family. That's the biggest difference; Myra was right there with Janis when she was an international superstar and dealing with the extreme pressures of her career, while Laura only got to see small glimpses of that whenever Janis wrote home or visited; it's important to keep in mind while reading "Love, Janis" that Laura wasn't with Janis in California, wasn't on the road with her or involved in the whole hippie scene; therefore, Myra's book gives us far more insight on her career and a more personal & detailed account of Janis at that point in her life, with many many quotes and dialogue from Janis throughout the book. Laura's book's strong points are Janis's history, how she got to where she went, who she was before she became the infamous Janis Joplin, and really helps to humanize her as we see her interact with her family, which is, I believe, a very accurate and trustworthy description, seeing as Laura is family and, I think it's safe to say, knew Janis very well.
I would recommend, to new Janis fans, reading this one first, then venturing onto others, because I think it's worthwhile to learn her complex history, particularly how she got started in singing, before learning the full details of who she was as a world-famous blues queen, which is what we get in Myra's book. Her letters from home are also quite interesting to read, not only for what Janis writes home about, but we also get to see her handwriting, her exuberance in her letters, and doodles/pictures she drew in her letters. Overall, Myra's book shows Janis as an adult and singer and gives us more insight to Janis's complicated personality, whereas Laura's is more of a straightforward history of her life. Both bios are wonderful and are must-reads for Janis fans.
Book Review: Poorly written but rich with moments
Summary: 3 Stars
Laura is no Balzac. She doesn't share the reality of her sister's life in a way that makes it as important and real the way a master would. But, what can a person expect? She does share and reveal much. It's way too much to ask that she (Laura) could write a book that truly reveals the depths of Janis' life and times such that it will influence people for ages to come. I would like such a work because I feel that Janis' life should not be forgotten. If you have feelings for Janis like I do then this book is a must read. If someone someday takes what Laura has written and makes it into a book that captures all of the emotion and reality of Janis' life and times so that even a casual reader will be amazed then that will be an amazing book. I think Laura would agree.Book Review: Sisterly perspective
Summary: 3 Stars
Having previously read Myra Friedman's excellent bio on Janis as well as various other books portraying some aspect of Janis's career or life, "Love, Janis" is a welcome addition, bringing more of Janis's own words in the form of her letters home, and some insights about her family. It's true that the author, Janis's sister, was not directly involved in Janis's California lifestyle and singing career, nor is she a particularly good writer. At times this book also suffers from the same fault I've seen in other books or portions of books written by the families of tragically-dead-too-young celebs, namely a tendency to whitewash its subject a bit and fight off real or perceived blame cast on the family and community for not adequately grokking and appreciating that they had a Sensitive Genius Artist in their midst. These flaws get a little annoying to the reader at times, but can generally be forgiven if one remembers that Janis's behaviors, including her independent lifestyle, wacky rockstar outfits, outwardly aggressive persona, and musical style are much more generally accepted now than they were in the early 60s, when "nice girls" just didn't DO those kinds of things, especially down in Texas. Laura Joplin comes off like the ultimate "nice girl" and one can see the pressure that was put on Janis, including by Janis herself, to be more restrained in order to fit a womanly ideal. However, Janis's letters suggest that similar pressures were placed on her (or she placed them on herself) to be a loud rock star or hippie queen, so the family doesn't seem to blame for her ultimate fate even when Laura gets defensive about that subject.
The book is worth reading to hear more of Janis's own voice, regardless of whether you find her sister's weaving of the tale to be charming, acceptable or a negative distraction. I'd suggest it be read as a complement or backup to other biographies on Janis, as an additional window on the soul of this complex artist.