A review by srlemons42
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, by Marilyn Manson, Neil Strauss
4.0
Well, this is certainly a Marilyn Manson book about Marilyn Manson. I had purchased this book ages ago but forgot about it. After sorting through things to give away to Goodwill/charity I found it again and decided to read it. It was certainly an experience.
The book is written 1st person by Marilyn Manson (with Neil Strauss) and it is basically exactly what you would think a memoir by Marilyn Manson would be like. This is basically the story of his early days, both growing up and the start of the band. I found it reasonably interesting and pretty entertaining.
It's always hard to decide what is really and fiction in any memoir written by a celebrity, and Marilyn Manson is no exception. I would say it's even harder in this case. So much of his stage persona is tied up in being the most outrageous with the "shocking" childhood. Is any of this true? Well, most of these tales I've actually heard repeated in various interviews over the years. The backstage stories told after the band achieved some measure of success seem plausible, if overblown and full of hyperbole. Which seems just about right for a book about Marilyn Manson.
Overall, this book is entertaining and interesting but probably only really for fans of Marilyn Manson (the person or the band).
The book is written 1st person by Marilyn Manson (with Neil Strauss) and it is basically exactly what you would think a memoir by Marilyn Manson would be like. This is basically the story of his early days, both growing up and the start of the band. I found it reasonably interesting and pretty entertaining.
It's always hard to decide what is really and fiction in any memoir written by a celebrity, and Marilyn Manson is no exception. I would say it's even harder in this case. So much of his stage persona is tied up in being the most outrageous with the "shocking" childhood. Is any of this true? Well, most of these tales I've actually heard repeated in various interviews over the years. The backstage stories told after the band achieved some measure of success seem plausible, if overblown and full of hyperbole. Which seems just about right for a book about Marilyn Manson.
Overall, this book is entertaining and interesting but probably only really for fans of Marilyn Manson (the person or the band).