Alana Massey’s All the Lives I Want is a collection of essays about famous people, peeking into the stories behind the names and faces we all know. I didn’t really know all of the people she would cover in these essays before I received the advance copy, but I knew I’d be interested to read about Britney Spears, Winona Ryder, Fiona Apple, and The Virgin Suicides–all figures in pop culture during my formative years and young adulthood.
Massey’s collection is an incisive mélange of profiles, also delving into the cultural history of hip-hop (Lil’ Kim and Nikki Minaj), the lure of Sylvia Plath’s mythology in the internet Etsy-world, and the crimes, perceived and otherwise, of Courtney Love (an interesting juxtaposition, having just read Cat Marnell’s worshipful account). It reads like a collection of academic essays, full of fascinating dissection and application of theory and cultural context. I expected to read something more detailed than your average People magazine profiles, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of insight and analysis in these essays. I really didn’t know what I was getting, and I was more than excited to read Massey’s work.
I’m not a huge pop culture junkie, and I knew very little about some of these people despite their prominence in the media during the 1990s and 2000s. I generally resent the (IMO undeserved) popularity of characters like Kim Kardashian (so much so that I don’t even really want to put her name here and contribute in some way!), but I almost always find it interesting to learn the reality behind the rise to stardom, the truth behind the “throwdowns”, and the intricacies of connection and influence that we all feel, but don’t identify.
This is a fantastic set of essays, both entertaining and educational, and Massey’s writing is both solid and accessible.
All the Lives I Want is available from Grand Central Publishing.
Sarah's Book Thoughts 