Life with My Sister Madonna
by Christopher Ciccone, Wendy Leigh
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Book Summary Information
Author: Christopher Ciccone, Wendy LeighEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-14
ISBN: 1416587624
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
Book Reviews of Life with My Sister Madonna
Book Review: Mark the final bill "paid", Christopher.
Summary: 3 Stars
The book, though hardly illuminating, is somewhat entertaining. Yes, most of what Christopher writes in the book has been already reported in numerous magazines and tabloids-she's a controller, she's a user, she's diva, she's lacks empathy towards others (though, I must admit, her lack of attachment to, or regard for, for her family was disturbing and that she's completely clueless to any of it), she's insecure, she's fame hungry, she's doesn't hang out with other big celebrities because she doesn't want anyone stealing her spotlight and they don't need her glow to bask in themselves, etc., etch, ...blah, blah, blah). That is well known to someone like me-hardly a fan-but as a witness to her rise in the early 80s.
I will concede she is a superb entertainer with acute business savvy. I know people that anxiously await her tours and spend hundreds of dollars to get tickets to see her perform. Obviously, she shines on the stage. Unfortunately, for Madonna, and Chris, that time is very brief. For Madonna, this is a time when she is unabashedly adored by millions. Personally, my resentment towards Madonna came from an interview she gave on TV years ago. She declared that TV was off limits in her home. Her children were never allowed to watch it because Madonna feared that their creativity, and intellectual capabilities, would be compromised if allowed any time being exposed to it. I couldn't help being dismayed, and marveling, at her hypocrisy. Without TV, and her exposure on it (via MTV), most likely, Madonna would have never gone beyond a marginal dance club singer and a regional one, at best. Yet, in spite of this, she is completely at peace with selling herself, and her ahem.."art" to MY children via this, according to her, very destructive medium.
So, I set my hostility aside, and read with an open mind. The writing, itself, is mediocre. Oh, Wendy throws in a few ten dollar words here and there to make it more literature-like, but overall, it's nothing to be proud of. The phrase "and why not?" and "after all" are overused when explaining why Madonna does, and did what she did, at times. There are a couple of spelling, and grammar, errors missed by the editors, but they are not glaring, or overly distracting.
Her propensity to be cheap is somewhat surprising. Though, it's very good business. How she applies it to her family, especially to Christopher, is very sad. Making him suck up 65 thousand dollars in paintings because she changed her mind on the purchase, I found sickening.
Through a few of their more nasty riffs, Madonna asserts that Christopher would be "nothing without me", an attack I find way too convenient and rather pathetic. Most people, in the REAL world, and in most professions, have no problem using family contacts, and other connections, as a way to more business, and furthering their career. It is normal, and certainly nothing to use against someone, especially a family member, as a way to shame them. This is another way, apparently, Madonna is clueless about the real world.
In all honesty, I think that Christopher down plays his drinking and drug use-"recreational" as he claims- in the book. However, I don't think he was an addict in desperate need of treatment as his sister argues with his therapists. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle on this one.
The early death of their mother is mentioned many times. Many times Madonna uses it as an excuse for the tone of their relationship. However, never face to face-always in letters, faxes, and emails. I'm not convinced. I think Madonna's lack of emotional attachment, and capability to be in normal human relationships, was hardwired from birth. Perhaps, had their mother survived, it would not have reached the cold level it is now, but it would have still been there.
Years ago, when I watched the Truth or Dare "documentary", I found many of the situations, and reactions, very odd. The encounter with the childhood friend who she barely acknowledges, laying by her Mother's grave, her very twisted, and impulsive, comment about her Dad having sex with her. Christopher reveals the first two scenes were completely staged and would have never happened if they cameras weren't rolling. The other being nothing more than for shock value.Her father must have been appalled and I'm sure Madonna, to this day, doesn't get why.
I don't usually purchase "tell-all" books such as this, yet when I viewed Christopher on a talk show a couple of weeks ago, I was intrigued. Christopher comes off much more catty on TV than he does in the book, thank goodness. Clearly, he admires his sister's abilities, discipline, and creativity. He simply desires that she hold him in the same high esteem, or at the very least, treat him respectfully and with a modicum of dignity.
I'm also not convinced about the "GR" factor and the estrangement of Madonna's and Christopher's relationship. Yes, he was rude and made inappropriate, and hurtful, jokes regarding gay people. Yet, if Madonna is suppose to be the tough, and demanding, woman that Christopher claims, she would have doused that homophobic fire immediately. She was simply doing many of the same things she was doing BEFORE the entrance of GR. Frankly, I would hold Madonna, and her shameful inability to directly confront anyone face to face, even her spouse, accountable, not Ritchie.
The celebrity factor in this book was underwhelming. He liked Warren Beatty, in spite of the constant questions he posed to Christopher regarding his sexuality. Very weird. Demi Moore and her wanting decorating "help" Kabbalah-style was worth a chuckle. Cher hiding in the shadows of Madonna's dressing room, watching her, as she prepares for her first appearance on MTVs music video awards, was definitely in the creepy zone. However, that's really the most interesting celebrity tidbits documented in the book. There's not many because Madonna simply didn't allow too many around to risk sharing the spotlight.
Madonna's discovery of the Kabbalah is another big factor in her relationships now. This isn't necessarily out of the ordinary for ANY individual that becomes a religious, or cult, fanatic. They want to bring everyone they meet, and know, into their religious world to save them, or as the Kabbalah teaches "help" them. If they do not resist, and allow themselves to assimilate, they are accepted. If they do not, or change their mind, they are rejected or considered a betrayer. So, Madonna is just like any other religious nut case. A shred of common ground with the rest of humanity, though that connection is dubious.
So, after reading this book I don't feel guilty, in the least, for purchasing it. I figure with all the money Madonna stiffed Christopher out of over the years, let him make a few bucks off of her, and consider "services rendered- and finally- PAID". I wish him well.
Summary of Life with My Sister Madonna
Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his life and forty-seven years of growing up with and working with his sister - the most famous woman in the world.Pop Books
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