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God, Christopher Ciccone is whiny. Madonna lets him dance in her videos, design her houses, dress her for her tours, art direct her tours and gets her friends to give him gallery shows, even though he's never formally trained do any of that (except dance). I'm not a huge Madonna fan; I just read this book because I like reading about the entertainment business and stars in general. There is really no new information about Madonna in this book, it's just Christopher whining about how she's mistreated him all these years. I really don't think Madonna and Christopher were ever that close, even though they spent a lot of time together, because he relates virtual nothing about Madonna's personal life. Basically, every time he works for her, she rips him off (doesn't pay him fairly, replaces him at the last minute, etc). And catty. And all he does is bitch about how horrible it is to work for her.
You know what - then quit working for her. Christopher can't do that though because he has no formal training to do ANYTHING. But there was nothing new here - almost nothing about Madonna's childhood, no insights into her personality. Or else he was never paying attention what was going on in it because he's just as self-absorbed as she is.
I loved it because it was something NEW that has never been written before about Madonna. I couldn't put the damn thing down. It was like witnessing self-flagellation. I'm sure if Madonna were that judgemental about drugs with everyone else, she would have been shunned in the entertainment industry. But I leave with disappointment. This whole book was very intriguing, but very infuriating at the same time - from both sides. HE couldn't put the damn thing down.
I never could have imagined that Madonna, the icon I grew up with the 80's was such a self-centered ass. Nor can I understand how Christopher could have allowed her to continue treating him so badly for almost three decades. I asked for this book for Christmas (everybody laughed at me) and started it last week. But the fact that their own father and stepmother have read the book and are prepared to back him up - this should tell us something. Big deal Christopher was doing recreational drugs in the 80's and 90's. We all have our issues with siblings, but extortion and blackmail shouldn't even be on the radar.I loved the book. I leave disappointed because growing up and even into adulthood, I've always admired Madonna for her gusto, her musical and dancing talent, as well as what I thought was a savvy business sense. I typically don't read autobiographies as they usually end up being self-serving, but this is kind of a hybrid of the two - it is Christopher's autobiography but offers an unbiased, insider look into the world of Madonna that even a renowned biographer would simply not be privy to.
Although my husband hates biographies, and anything to do with celebrity drama. Any other biography about her is going to contain the mythological half-truths that have been circulated for years, such as the 'story' that she arrived in the middle of Times Square with little more than $35 in her pocket. I wanted to reach inside the book and throttle both of them.I believe the details of the events described in the book are probably closer to the truth than they are to fiction. Christopher exposes Madonna on several of her half-truths just to make the point that celebrities take creative license on just about everything. I'm sure Madonna would rather those biographies stay in circulation. After reading Christopher's book, I learned that all is not as it seems and I've certainly learned a lesson about idol worship.
she is bossy, egotistical, demanding, powerful and goes after what she wants, regardless. He gives his feelings about Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie, both of Madonna's ex-husbands. I dont think anything in this book really shocked me. Some would call her brother Christopher jealous, vindictive and pathetic for writing this book and trying to make some money on his own, but others would say, they don't blame him for writing it. I am a huge Madonna fan since the early 80s when I was a child and I have followed her career intensely and still buy her music. Maybe I'm a little disappointed that Madonna seems to be even a bigger Bit** than I thought, or maybe she's just misunderstood and that Christopher exagerrated alot of this. And of course, he soon realizes his sister is becoming one of the most famous women in the world. It was fun to read about her early days when she recorded her first album, "Madonna" and her starting out in NYC, being booed by the audience, breaking down somewhere in Africa, and being picked up by a couple of workers who had no idea who she was.
She seemed a little too enraptured in Guy Ritchie to really care about his gay bashing, and her maternal instict was also questioned alot in this book. Christopher worshipped Madonna in the beginning, and wanted to be a part of her life for so long, and he was for a while. I have never considered Madonna to be extremely friendly and likeable-in fact, she has spent most of her career being a show off and keeping us on our toes, but that's why we love her, right. He went on to say what he thinks are the reasons she is so involved with Malawi and the diarreah of the mouth she's known to have.He also wrote of the 5 day snob fest her wedding to Guy Ritchie in Scotland was, and how Nazi Madonna made her sister Paula buy her own ticket to it, even though she flew her maid and other servants over. It did bother me a bit as to the emotional abuse she aimed at her brother and she seemed to get pleasure out of it. He designed a couple of her tours, dressed her, decorated her NYC apt, decorated some of her homes, but the turbulence and stress working for an un-appreciative woman just got to be too much for him. Madonna, who has never been around children other than her own, is now an author of children's books too,, Christopher pokes some fun at this. Regardless, I'm obsessed.
I enjoyed the book, but unfortunately, this book may have ended their relationship for good. Madonna's parents instilled a foundation in childhood that encouraged hard work, discipline and honesty. In spite of the trauma caused by the death of their mother, Madonna and Christopher are able to overcome their grief though hard work, and because of the support of their parents, who encouraged success. If they were able to use the Kabbalah with each other, they would have been able to forgive each other.
Madonna was five years old when her mother died. Christopher, along with his co-author, is able to write colorful and detail stories, particularly about their childhood. Madonna and Christopher's relationship is like a roller coaster and they are moths drawn to each other's flame. However, Madonna does not want to hire someone else, so Christopher does two jobs at the same time for Madonna.
Christopher develops a drug problem while Madonna's fame makes her unwilling to comprise. This contributes to Madonna and Christopher's success. Since Madonna has a bigger flame Christopher gets third degree burns. They give each other warnings and limits, but they ignore their boundaries with each other. Madonna & Christoper, December 22, 2009 I enjoyed learning about the childhood of Madonna and Christopher Ciccone.
When they were children, they encouraged each other and brought the best out in each other, as they grow and mature, they started to bring out the worst in each other. They both are talented and intelligent, but they became jealous and petty towards each other. Their relationship falls apart out of jealously and spitefulness; instead of helping each other, they become competitors and suspicious with each other. The book became repetitious and did not give a basic overview of the Kabbalah, although he writes about it in the book. In the next paragraph, he sends his assistant to Madonna instead of coming himself. Madonna's father married Joan, who according to Christopher tried to raise the kids properly. The teachings of the Kabbalah can help to balance emotions with intellect, and to balance judgment with mercy.
In one instance, Madonna's tells Christopher, who is works for her at different times as an interior decorator, producer, and dresser for her, that he needs to be available to her 24 hours a day. Christopher feels humiliated being Madonna's dresser and since he is the producer he wants her to hire someone else to dress her. The Kabbalah could have helped them resolve their differences by encouraging different states of consciousness and by building on wisdom and understanding. I wish them lots of success in their future endeavors, and am certain that their mother would be proud of them.
The pages of this book line the bottom of my bird's cage. The facts of this book are even wrong.
Who sold her out. Her own BROTHER.
For one, This book is a tell all of the most famous female pop star in the world. Tasteless, poorly written and a utter disappointment.
You do not have to be a fan of her's to see this book was written by a scorned baby out for revenge. At first riding the coat tails of his "big" sister, then becoming bitter airing the family laundry out for the world to read.
Simply laughable. The ONLY reason I gave it one star was because she was on the cover.
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