WAGING HEAVY PEACE by Neil Young (Penguin Books, 2012)
Be honest, you didn’t really expect this to be a straightforward autobiography, did you?
Neil Young has always done things his own way and having just turned 68, you’d hardly expect him to change a habit of a lifetime now.
I don’t think you could call him truly avant-garde but his singular quality definitely sets him apart from his peers. His style is that of a loner and a hard task master, but this is what makes him such a unique artist.
He writes as he sings, with a disarming simplicity and openness. He continually admits his own limitations and recognises his idiosyncratic approach: “There is a lot to cover and I have never done this before. Also, I am not interested in form for form’s sake”.
By rights, there should be a footnote to say that no editor has interfered with any aspect of this book. The publishers appear to have accepted the finished work on trust, warts and all. “Today, my past is a huge thing”, Young states with a vagueness you quickly become accustomed to. Some chapters have titles while, for no obvious reason, others don’t and you will look in vain for any coherent narrative thread. Continue reading
TV sucks and I do my level best not to watch too much.At the same time, living in Italy, I have been frequently frustrated by not being able to watch British television which may not be perfect but at least has some wheat amongst the chaff.
