Rogue.ph

GUNS ‘N’ PROSES: Rock Star Lit

Posted on May 10, 2009 by James Gabrillo / 1538 Views

Chelsea Horror Hotel: A Novel

Authored by Dee Dee Ramone

Chelsea Horror Hotel is about an ex-punk rocker named Dee Dee Ramone who resides with his wife at the vermin-infested Chelsea Hotel. Ramone’s approach to fiction—all first thoughts and indifference to writerly cultivation—is punk to the core. Though the latter half of the book descends into pure nonsense, Ramone deserves credit for beating others to the eponymous protagonist bit. Ramone is so postmodern that he even predicts his own death in the novel’s climactic scene. Let’s see Jonathan Safran Foer do that.

READABILITY 4/5
ENLIGHTENMENT 0/5

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A Spaniard in the Works

Authored by John Lennon

Unfortunately, Lennon’s 1966 book of short stories and prose falls far short of the genius he displayed as a songwriter. What’s dismaying is Lennon’s ceaseless Joycean punnery and spoonerisms, the scream-of-consciousness babble dolled up as stinging social satire, and the nonexistence of a story.

READABILITY 2/5
ENLIGHTENMENT 1/5

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LOTSA DE CASHA

Authored by Madonna

Hans Christian Andersen, Roald Dahl, Madonna! There may be something wince-inducing about the phrase “Madonna, children’s author,” but you can’t doubt her loyalty to the kiddie-book format. Lotsa de Casha, the fifth and final title in a series she began in ’03, is the story of a rich yet unhappy greyhound who learns the value of sharing when he finds himself stranded without any money. Enchanting illustrations by Rui Paes and unanimous thumbs-up from youngsters queried by the press at Barnes & Noble stores make it hard to hate.

READABILITY 5/5
ENLIGHTENMENT 3/5