2023-11-05 17:46:52
Memoir books have become a sweet resource for artists with a certain career (or not: Justin Bieber published his at the age of 16). Works designed to exalt the character, satisfy curiosity, impose an official story. But it is easy to guess that a Ozzy Osbourne would hardly be seen with the humor, perseverance and skill to write the more than 300 pages of his psychotropic autobiography.
That’s what he is for ghost writer, the ‘ghost writer’ (or, um, ‘black’), which shapes the story. Perhaps made official in the credits as ‘collaborator’, a euphemism that usually covers whoever wrote the book from conversations and raw texts. In its very enjoyable ‘I, Elton John’, the pianist-singer limited himself to giving ‘special thanks’ to Alexis Petridis, the brilliant critic of ‘The Guardian’, “who has made it possible.”
And there it is ‘The woman that I am’, the newly enlightened memories of Britney Spearsin which three professionals have been involved of writing and editing, Ada Calhoun (who drafted it), Sam Lansky (fine-tuned it) and Duke Dempsey (closed it), according to ‘The New York Times’. It may seem like an ugly practice, or a betrayal to the reader, who feels that each word of the text comes directly from the heart of the singer whom he admires, and whom he believes he is dealing with one on one through an intimate channel.
But the greatest artist may be unable to write a book that the publisher will want to be explosive. and perfectly constructed to stir emotions, with its turning points and conflict, its suspense and its moral. It is possible, as has been the case in Spears, that an attempt is made to incorporate various points of view, even generational, to broaden the spectrum of readers. And it can happen that the artist does not remember aspects of his career (is more common than it seems), or that, busy with his things, he does not have the time to start writing.
Yes, it is mandatory to distrust when a biography is presented as a definitive work. If signed or supervised by the artist, it will reveal keys that only he knows, but maybe avoid unpleasant episodes or make your perspective prevail on debatable issues. And if it is the journalist, the specialist, who writes it alone, perhaps he will get to tell what the protagonist does not want to be known, but maybe you do it in the wrong way, not knowing details and reasons. Where is the truth? In the version of events that each person needs to believe in.
#Britney #Spears #definitive #memoir #exist