Jerry Lee Lewis Book:

Great Balls of Fire: True Story of Jerry Lee Lewis Reviews:
Fascinating Story, Terrible Book
2008-08-23 - Jerry Lee Lewis is a fascinating man, given the many dramatic events of his life: a backwoods Louisiana boy catapulted to rock 'n roll fame, who deep down always believed that rock 'n roll was evil and that he was leading himself and his fans to the devil; a restless man who went through multiple marraiges starting in his teens, then fell from public grace and success by marrying the love of his life, his 13-year old cousin Myra; later their son drowned and their rocky marraige fell apart. A tell-all biography from Myra's perspective could have made a great book, but the writer, Murray Silver, mangles her story. At times it is unclear who's perspective the story is being told from: Myra doesn't even show up until several chapters into the book, as it tries to tell Jerry Lee's early story, but the book ends at their divorce. Like a bad children's biography, the book is filled with made up assumptions and thoughts that the writer could not have been privvy to. Silver makes Jerry Lee and Myra, who were uneducated yet passionate and conflicted people, sound imbecilic at times. He also glosses over important events (such as Myra's rape by another man before she got involved with Jerry, Jerry and Myra's summer romance before they got married, and the drowning death of their son), while devoting page after plodding page to such boring events as Jerry getting ripped off by unscrupulous agents who took advantage of his naivite.

So judge for yourself. If you really want to know the details of Myra and Jerry's story, you'll find a lot of them here, but the terrible writing keeps it from touching you, and distorts the story because, again, the writer's constant and inappropriate use of dialect makes everyone involved sound fairly stupid. There is one exception, when Myra describes Jerry Lee's reaction to the birth of his first daughter (born after his son drowned). Jerry Lee at first wouldn't hold or interact with her, but after 2 weeks his heart melted, he held and cared for her all the time he was home, even let the baby sleep in their bed and called his daughter not by her name but "my heart". It is a pity more of the events in the book weren't rendered with this kind of simplicity and compassion. Then we might have been brought closer to the fascinating story of the Killer and the only woman he really loved.

Fascinating Story, Terrible Book
2008-08-23 - Jerry Lee Lewis is a fascinating man, given the many dramatic events of his life: a backwoods Louisiana boy catapulted to rock 'n roll fame, who deep down always believed that rock 'n roll was evil and that he was leading himself and his fans to the devil; a restless man who went through multiple marraiges starting in his teens, then fell from public grace and success by marrying the love of his life, his 13-year old cousin Myra; later their son drowned and their rocky marraige fell apart. A tell-all biography from Myra's perspective could have made a great book, but the writer, Murray Silver, mangles her story. At times it is unclear who's perspective the story is being told from: Myra doesn't even show up until several chapters into the book, as it tries to tell Jerry Lee's early story, but the book ends at their divorce. Like a bad children's biography, the book is filled with made up assumptions and thoughts that the writer could not have been privvy to. Silver makes Jerry Lee and Myra, who were uneducated yet passionate and conflicted people, sound imbecilic at times. He also glosses over important events (such as Myra's rape by another man before she got involved with Jerry, Jerry and Myra's summer romance before they got married, and the drowning death of their son), while devoting page after plodding page to such boring events as Jerry getting ripped off by unscrupulous agents who took advantage of his naivite.

So judge for yourself. If you really want to know the details of Myra and Jerry's story, you'll find a lot of them here, but the terrible writing keeps it from touching you, and distorts the story because, again, the writer's constant and inappropriate use of dialect makes everyone involved sound fairly stupid. There is one exception, when Myra describes Jerry Lee's reaction to the birth of his first daughter (born after his son drowned). Jerry Lee at first wouldn't hold or interact with her, but after 2 weeks his heart melted, he held and cared for her all the time he was home, even let the baby sleep in their bed and called his daughter not by her name but "my heart". It is a pity more of the events in the book weren't rendered with this kind of simplicity and compassion. Then we might have been brought closer to the fascinating story of the Killer and the only woman he really loved.

WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOIN' ON...
2008-05-08 - Entertaining biography of rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis. It details his rise from the poverty of rural Louisiana to become a rock and roll legend. Told by his wife of thirteen years, Myra Lewis, the book recounts an insider's view of those early days of rock and roll and of the rise of Jerry Lee Lewis in the annals of rock and roll.

Jerry grew up with his first cousin, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, who in his own right achieved a measure of notoriety, as a prominent preacher and televangelist. Lewis, however, a music lover from early childhood, wanted nothing more than to be a piano playing musician. A backwoods good ole boy, he shocked the country with his antics, topping it all off with his marriage to his thirteen year old cousin, Myra, an act which brought him unwelcome notoriety.

Known for his high energy performances, Jerry Lee Lewis lived hard, played hard, and worked hard at his music. His was a life of which legends are made. This book is an enjoyable, no holds barred narrative of that life.