John Waters can do no wrong, whether it’s making remarkable, wonderful, absurd, decadent films, or stand-up commentary, or writing a self-portrait told through the stories of the people who have influenced him, meant something to him, or were simply the kinds of people who interested him in his own quirky way.
His role models include a fascination with people as diverse as Saint Catherine of Siena, Denton Welch, the pornographer Bobby Garcia, and the oh-so-coy Johnny Mathis, and many others.
There are moments when you begin to wonder: are these people so interesting in and of themselves, or is Waters making them interesting? Would we really care about them if they didn’t wandered into his path?
The best part of the book is the chapter titled “Bookworm,” in which Waters lists five books he thinks everyone should read, including Denton Welch’s In Youth Is Pleasure, a coming-of age novel; Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, a scary psychological novel that predates Columbine; Jane Bowles Two Serious Ladies, Tennessee Williams favorite book; Christina Stead’s The Man Who Loved Children, a glorious portrait of a horrible family and its scars; and Ivy Compton-Burnett’s Darkness and Day, an “insanely inventive revision of Oedipus Rex.”
Check them out of your local public library…if you can find them. Only 2 copies of the Stead book are in the entire County of Los Angeles Library system, and the only copy of the Compton-Burnett that I can find locally is in the Honnald Library of the Claremont Colleges. I guess it’s time to pony up the $50 to get one of their cards. The cheapest price on Amazon is over $40 for a used copy. No brainer, right?
Have fun with John Waters, and if you haven’t seen Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, or Desperate Living, you haven’t lived life to its fullest. If you’re like a little less adventure, there’s always Hairspray! Go for it!
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