Life with My Sister Madonna
by Christopher Ciccone, Wendy Leigh
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Book Reviews of Life with My Sister Madonna
Book Review: Madonna! Madonna! Madonna! just look how perfect that looks!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, I purchased the audiobook on itunes, as well purchased the book from amazon... I have to say the end of the book made me cry, thinking about my own sister whom lives in New York,,,and I live in Dallas. The books ending is what got me...Leaving me with the message that I must never become estranged from my sister that I love deeply. Come on people, the end of the book is what "books" are all about. First of all, he claims to say that that Guy, and Sean are homophobes.... Yet he gets upset when his sister Madonna so called "calls him out". Are you proud to be gay Christopher, or are you ashamed, or is it that socially you think of yourself as a homophobe, you don't want people to think of you as a normal homosexual... Oh wait, maybe Christopher would like to be crowned as the "ultimate fag of all fags", Madonna's Gay Brother......Madonna's only gay brother, Christopher Ciccone, gay brother of Madonna!!!!!! See how much better that looks....
Madonna is Madonna, thats why we love her.....We all know she's amazingly ruthless, fabulous, nervous, willing, curious, beautiful, the only one, worth every penny I spend on her, bitchy, sexy, and ruling the world....Christopher sure said "only" about every other sentence refering to the many thousands of dollars she paid him.... His is Christopher Ciccone, She is Madonna..... That's that. I appreciated the book, and at the same time fell harder for Madonna .... I love her, I loved the way she handled every situation with Christopher! She could have not been any more perfect.... That is how I see her, and how I fell for her application to always stand beside her as she promises with every worship, I will receive everything Madonna has to offer.... Christopher called out alot of famous people about drug use, insinuating in my opinion that Madonna is double standard for being friends with coke whores, yet making him go to rehab... She does not employ the starlettes he calls out. And foremost the starlettes are not her brother.......She loves her brother, and just as any other human being would treat a family member on cocaine..... With a deep control of love........
Madonna has always admitted her bitchiness and has never denied being a control freak..... Christopher is upset because he can't have full reign of his sister... If he would have not been so p@*?y whipped, he would still have a life partner and would not be following her accomplishments with self entitlement as the plan.....
I apologize for the run ons, and fragments, but the point is there, I love love Madonna.......
I love Madonna..... And know one thing, as a 31 year old gay man can hold Madonna responsible for always sending every head lift, amazing music to dream to, assurance that it will be that, and only that....And for always making me so damn excited to live knowing that she is alive with me. The anticapation of her next feature keeps me co-ordinating and feauturing myself.......xoxoxoxoxox
CEG
icon member
Book Review: Life With My Sister Madonna
Summary: 2 Stars
What a massive disappointment! I have been a Madonna fan from the early days of her career. I have read most accounts of her publicity stunts, personal ups and downs and have been to several of her concerts. She obivously is a shrewd and brilliant business woman, and no one has ever imagined her as easy to get along with.
I was excited, although skeptical, to hear that her brother was writing a book. I had hoped this would provide new information and a different perspective of her life beyond the usual tabloid/magzine headlines. What the book primarily provided was an autobiography of Christopher Ciccone, who once again uses his sister's fame to make money. I am not so sure that he has ever really developed a career of his own, since he made it quite clear his life and unfair amount of income (as he would describe it) revolved around her career. He complains about her abusive treatment of him, yet he continues to go back for more, even to the point of ending his long term relationship with Danny. This book obviously was written as a means for Christopher to make more money using his relationship as Madonna's brother.
The book consisted primarily of name dropping, and who the latest celebrity HE got to socialize with because his sister is Madonna. Shallow and empty. Written very sketchy without detail, one is left asking, WHO CARES that he went to dinner with a couple of super models? Yes, she is obviously a spoiled and demanding diva, which is nothing new or surprising, yet he appears as a lazy brother who someway expected her to provide him with an income because she has a lot of money and he was her struggling brother. I found the repeated complaining about his hotel room not being a suite, while someone else's was nicer, extremely irritating. Or questioning why he didn't get to fly first class. You are left wondering why he doesn't get a REAL job, perhaps then he can fly first class! That theme was repeated numerous times throughout the book. I don't see how he deserves a single penny of her money, except for what he earns. I continued to read this boring book, which had nothing new to offer about her, because I am interested in her life as it is in England, which was skipped over almost entirely. I honestly do not believe there was one account of anything in this book that I had not already read. This author has nothing interesting or new to offer the reader regarding insight to Madonna and her life as it evolves to her present day life. It simply is a easy way for him to make a few more $$$$ off of his hard working sister. This is not worth the time to read. Every story is old news, unless you wish to learn a lot of personal details about Christopher Ciccone and his "poor me" attitude, then you have the right book. Very shallow, sketchy, trails off at the end with no real purpose.
Book Review: He clearly didnt learn much from his big sister!
Summary: 3 Stars
This book gets 3 stars simply because he's writing from the point of view of somoene who knows Madonna intimately & you get a better perspective of who she is, unlikle most bios written about Madonna where the author typically has no connection to her whatsoever. Regardless, the attempt by her brother to write a tell-all was lackluster & didnt quite live up to the hype.
If his goal was to make Madonna look bad, it didnt work if you ask me---i didnt feel one bit sorry for him throughout most of this book and found myself taking Madonnas side more often than not. He writes extensively on how often Madonna helped him, opened doors for him & introduced him to her glitterati of celeberity connections. Yet all he wanted to do was party & snort coke. Too bad Chris you werent resourceful like your sister & took those connections and turned them into something big. The part in the book where his interior design biz is taking off and Demi Moore asks him to decorate her house is a perfect example of how quickly he was able to screw up golden oppportunities. instead of shopping at the high end stores Demi Moore is accustomed to, he goes & buys a bunch of stuff from IKEA, has it delivered to her house and then sends her the bill. When she isnt amused, he chalks it up to her "not getting the joke". Needless to say she didnt use him.
Madonna is business minded. that is how she conducts her career & why she is still on top. Too bad you didnt take notes Chris, you might still have that interior design business. He writes about not using contracts when doing interior design jobs for Madonna because she was his sister--yet she always used contracts & was all business with him from the jump. He never took the hint that it was time to start getting professional. Family or no family if youre running a business you draw up contracts. & when he does finally start using them w/ Madonna, its more out of immature spite than proffessionalism. & yes Chris you do/did have a drug problem despite what the doctors may have told you. How can you write about snorting coke w/ Naomi Campbell & Kate Moss on one page & claim to not have a coke problem on another? Oh i remember--you did "bumps" from a key & not lines. lol. Madonna tried to help him kick the habit, offered to pay for rehab & he didnt take it. Oh well!
Yes Madonna is insecure. Yes Madonna is a control freak. Yes Madonna is tight with a dollar. Yes Madonna can be a self-serving b****. But arent all bigtime major superstars? Sheesh they dont get to the top blowing all their money, being nice to everyone & letting people get away with sh**. Like someone else here said---it is, what it is! If he was smart he wouldve learned something from his sister and made something of his self. He wouldna had to write this damn book.
Book Review: Madonna: According to Christopher Ciccone
Summary: 4 Stars
Well we all knew Madonna has a brother. We've seen him in the documentary Truth or Dare, taking Madonna's abuse backstage. And wasn't that him dancing with her in the "Lucky Star" video? But did you know he was right there with her from the very beginning? Christopher Ciccone's book on Madonna seems like trash at first, but on the other hand, doesn't it seem like the truth? We know Madonna can be difficult at times, we've heard she's a little stingy, and she drops friends and acquaintaces like out of style fashion. I am a huge Madonna fan and I love her, but let's face it: she's a diva. That's just how it is. None of us were there with Madge and Chris, so we don't really know what all happened between them. But there does seem to be something genuine about Chris, whatever his intentions with this book are. Madonna certainly isn't going to care one way or another about his detailed disappointments over not directing her past few tours, getting slighted and mistreated over construction of her various homes, and getting the brush off once Guy stepped into the picture. The part about Guy nearly running over his foot really got me. I was convinced. However, Guy, although he does seem to be a 'man's man' really doesn't strike me as homophobic, just because he might make a crack or two about gays. Although it's insensitive, straight men do that sometimes, forgetting gay men are in the room. We've all been there! I can't help but agree with Chris when he mentions it was in poor taste of Madonna to visit their mother's grave during Truth or Dare, even "reenacting" the search for the grave. I always felt that was a bit much for the film, using their mother that way. Upon release of this book, I was hesitant to read it, because I knew Chris was angry with Madonna and it would put her in a bad light. It does portray her negatively, but at the same time, Chris still respects and loves her and expresses that. Madonna is incredibly business-saavy, ambitious, and goes in for the kill no matter what. I keep thinking everytime Madonna suppossedly "burns" him, why Chris kept going back for more. Is it really that good of an idea for family to work together? As a Madonna fan, I still recognize she isn't a perfect person and has made mistakes. I believe she has treated some people badly and that sometimes she thinks she's a little above us at times. But I don't have to work with her, and no one forced Christopher at gunpoint to work with her either. All I have to do is listen to her music and enjoy her awesome shows. I will forever be a fan. Chris's book puts him on the fence between bitter-shut out brother and brother scorned who wants closure. This probably wasn't the best way to do it, but it made one great summer read!Book Review: POOR, POOR CHRISTOPHER YOU BIG OLE WHINY BABY!
Summary: 2 Stars
My biggest beef with this book is how insanely delusional Christopher is. There really wasn't a point to this book at all besides Christopher cashing in on his sister's name. In the end, it makes Christopher look bad not Madonna.
There are no new insights to Madonna as a person or an entertainer and everything Christopher reveals about her is pretty much common knowledge to Madonna's fans. We all know she can be a b----. We all know she's an opportunist. We all know she's driven and focused.
The best part was when Christopher described her early years of success and his role in it. I had no clue he was her back-up dancer in the Lucky Star video. Yet quickly the book degenerates into Christopher's globe trotting name dropping of celebrities he hung out and did drugs with.
But back to my beef. What really irked me about Christopher's incessant whining and complaining is how he goes on and on about his dislike for Madonna's inner circle of sycophant yes-men yet is completely oblivious to the fact that HE is Madonna's biggest sycophant yes-man. For 25 years he never said no to her. He would drop anything and everything and rush to be by her side to the chagrin of his partner. He would tell her how great she is in her movies even though he knows (as well as we do) that she's a crap actress. He would let her walk all over him and then come back begging for more. What makes it worse is that he's her brother and should have been her biggest supporter and most upfront and honest critic. Instead, he's afraid to establish boundaries or say no to her because his own success hinges on staying in her good graces. Madonna tells him everything he has is because of her, which is true although Christopher certianly doesn't believe it. I'm sure he is talented but how can he tell, or anyone else for that matter, if he never separated himself from his sister instead of sticking around, basking in the shadow of her success and hanging onto her coat strings for dear life?
Which also brings me to another point: if Christopher is so delusional about being Madonna's number one yes-man then he must be equally delusional about his drug use. He says he generally does drugs only on the weekend. O-K. By the end of the book he never says that he has stopped using drugs and has refused treatment so maybe Madonna is right. Maybe he does need rehab. Drug addicts are the last to realize that they have a problem because they're delusional!
I'm siding with Madonna on this one. She has nothing to worry about with this book and ultimately Christopher is the one who comes out looking like a pathetic loser still cashing in on his sister's success.