The Long Hard Road Out of Hell
by Marilyn Manson, Neil Strauss
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Book Reviews of The Long Hard Road Out of Hell
Book Review: A very long hard road
Summary: 5 Stars
After Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar record was released and his Dead to the World Tour came to a close. A large amount of people probably looked onto him as a dumb shock rocker and nothing more. This was his reaction to that. A book that a Manson fan or hater could indulge themselves into before they can decide to rag on him or not; to see the world through his eyes. I picked this up after becoming addicted to his music, and I must say this only draws me to him even more. If you plan to get his Antichrist Superstar record or anything prior to that, then this is a great companion. I bought this sometime soon after purchasing Antichrist, and I must say it certainly puts more things into perspective. It definitely helps if you want to understand the meanings behind the songs as well as the man and band themselves. I could not put this book down, I spent all the free time I had reading it (which is not much) and read it in 9 days. I have read it a second time since then, something I rarely ever do with books and yes, I do plan to read it a third time. Heck I lost it and bought it again it was so good.
One thing that I found to be interesting is that because it was written during the antichrist Superstar Era, it has 16 chapters or sections, where as the record also had 16 songs. Both are also divided up into 3 parts. There are too many parts here to select as my favorite. And as many other people have said, there are also a handful of parts that may "stick to your ribs". So that's a warning to squeamish people, or maybe that was the point in the first place. The Long Hard Road out of Hell chronicles Manson's Birth, (which is quite funny to see him as a kid in the pictures with KISS style face paint) up until 1997 during his Dead to the world tour. If you ever had any questions about Manson they will most likely be answered in this book. It will also put aside all those silly dirty rumors you have heard about him.
It leaves us off in 1997, it covers the albums Portrait of an American Family, Smells Like Children and Antichrist Superstar. It's been roughly 8 years and 5 albums since then and I feel a sequel is in order. I feel Manson did try and continue his work as an Author with the Holy wood Novel, but he felt it would be way too censored and thus never released it. If he were to make another autobiography, there might be too much time needed to fill in. Awe well, enough with my ramblings. If you are still not convinced to buy this masterpiece, then read some more reviews, and then come back to mine and see what you think. I hoped this helped either way.
Book Review: This man knows his Hell
Summary: 5 Stars
You wouldn't think a middle aged Southern conservative housewife like me would be caught dead reading something like this. The cover alone should scare me away. And the first word of the first chapter is one I wasn't allowed to say as a child. But with that first word Manson reveals immediately what his entire book portrays - Hell. The story mates his life with Dante's Inferno; even the chapters are structured as the divisions and circles of Dante's hell. This was a stroke of genius and makes for a fascinating read. Manson's life parallels Dante's journey through hell, and, like in the Inferno, it begins with pain and steadily becomes much worse. In the Inferno however, the protagonist with whom we identify is Dante, who is not one of the punished. We must guess at the psychic torment of the damned through Dante's conversations with them. Manson takes us on the same journey but as one of the condemned. He takes us inside his head to see firsthand the progressive blackening and relentless decay of his soul.But that is only one of the many levels on which this book operates. It is also the story of a man's struggle to come to terms with his own nature when that nature is something the world perceives as evil and he suspects they may be right. He has amazing self awareness, and the rare ability to articulate his inner battles in powerful, captivating ways. The book is riveting, for he is laying bare his soul for all to see, and he knows it is ugly.
But by the end of the book, after he has sunk to the dark bottom of the pit, there is a glimmer of hope. He gains the sense that there may be some beauty hidden under all the self-loathing and screw ups that are his existence. Like Dante, Manson finally confronts Satan himself, and discovers the exit from hell.
But if you are not up to all this psychological and metaphysical stuff, you can just enjoy the book on its surface. Wicked, outrageous, and at times hilarious, it is fast paced and full of action, but not for the prudish or squeamish. Be prepared for something that is probably worse than triple X and is quite disturbing. I have never heard Marilyn Manson's music and I'm not real sure I want to, as "heavy metal" just isn't my thing, but I stumbled upon this book quite by accident and must say it is one of the most entertaining reads I've ever had. I highly recommend it for anyone who has an interest in infernal literature, typically written by the righteous, as this is an equally compelling point of view from the debased sinner. The violence and shock rivals John Bunyan, but from the opposite side!
Book Review: the only way out.......
Summary: 5 Stars
of a typical Marilyn Manson love him or hate him frame of mind is through this book. Marilyn Manson was quite the controversial person back when his autobiography, "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell" published by ReganBooks, came out. He is most commonly known for his musical works, which helped to spawn the controversy over him. Obviously I recommend this book to any of Manson's fans that have not already read it. I also recommend this book to anyone who is the least bit curious about Manson, and to the people who slandered him before and after the book was released. Manson uses an interesting writing technique for this book, which is based on the idea of lumping together like ideas rather than to just portray everything in chronological order. Now that is not to say that the book does not progress in order, because it does to a degree. This actually is a good style because it does not leave the reader bored since he uses attention getters at the beginning of each chapter to keep the reader interested. The plot of this autobiography develops as Manson grows older. The book begins during his childhood, then progresses to the early stages of his band, and finally finishes with a personal growing experience at the end. The biggest problem with this book in my opinion is that Manson goes into a little to much detail on some grotesque issues. His description of his grandfather's pornography and masturbation in the basement is a prime example. Another small problem is that Manson goes into detail about experiences on drugs, which to some people might promote drug use. I would have to say this book is the best autobiography I have read to date. It is hard to put down because Manson always leaves you wanting to know what happens next. I personally got a better understanding of what stemmed Manson's hatred of religion. He made me understand whatmade him the person he is today by explaining what made him become this way by giving his reactions to events, rather than just telling the reader about events that happened. He always put a personal spin on issues he discusses, making it easier to understand his point of view. He is very detailed on what he says, and is careful to leave nothing out, making it so that the reader has a full understanding of what he means. As the famous quote says, "The only way out is through." Manson does indeed travel through Hell throughout this autobiography.Book Review: I actually read this in one sitting
Summary: 4 Stars
It was when I lived in Iowa and was bored one day trying to find books that I wanted to add to my collection, too broke to own this one I decided to sit in the book store and read it from cover to cover just to see what made him tick.
This unlike other autobiographies had a lot of his short fiction in there and shows that he was rejected from a few horror magazines, actually he is a damn good horror writer to boot. A short story that you might want to read by him is titled "All In The Family." Reading this book I can understand why a lot of Christian groups want to protest his shows, a dark and forboding character as him. Scary thing is I can relate to the guy being a horror writer who listens to heavy metal. Church friends tried to get me to stop listening to metal and recommended Frank Peretti novels to me.
Seeing him publishing some of his rejection letters, it shows some who also want to become writers and are writers that he's also one of us in that sense.
Keep in mind, I was in a book store in Mason City, Iowa, when I found the book. This was back when the book first came out -- I still want to get my hands on a copy of it along with the book that Brian Welch wrote so I can see the other side of the coin. Being that I have friends who play in industrial and heavy metal bands, I can imagine some of the stories that they have to tell. I've seen the wild parties that some of these bands would have. My old apartment was sometimes the setting for some of them.
Manson as a writer did something that will last years and years, even if this is his only book. For someone to actually sit down and read a 300 plus page book in one sitting that is an achivement, and speaking as someone who comes from a Christian background and grew up listening to many of the bands he also listened too.
True he might be the most twisted f--k in the business but he knows how to keep an audience reading. I wonder how many baby bats actually own this book. It's cleverly written. Coming from someone who've spent a good amount of their teen years and most of their twenties writing twisted fiction, this is something that I will recommend for any would be musician or writer.
Book Review: Please enter a title for your review
Summary: 3 Stars
"The less people understand you the more intelligent they think you are" muses Marilyn. In a catch 22 kind of way the understanding of Brian Warner I've gained from this book supports his claim.
I at least think he's less compassionate than I previously did, if not less intelligent. He talks seriously about planning to murder an unstable girl who was harassing him after he led her on then dumped her and kicked her out of the band, plans he was only scared off completing because a homeless man started following him and his accomplice while they were on their way to do the deed and after failing to lose him a cop car happened to pass by.
Learning about some of the experiences that inspired his lyrics and performance I can look at them and say yeah that's a good way of expressing that, but previously it was hard to see much meaning in anything he wrote or did. Yet he claims that conservatives were trying to silence him because of what he was saying. Dude, people liked you or disliked you based on image, no one knew you were saying anything.
His comraderie with Anton Lavey, who is portrayed (presumably unintentionally) as a fortune-telling conman, illuminates Manson's worst trait, his willingness to see only the worst in his conservative christian detractors, seeking to villify rather than enlighten them, denying their humanity in the same way they do his.
He also subscribes to a "contempt for the weak" ideology typically expressed by white supremecists, involving disgust for sluts and drug addicts, and advocates the death penalty for shoplifters "because if you're stupid enough to get caught you deserve to die."
His jaded attitude to "sex, drugs and rock n roll" culture inspires some repellant descriptions that could probably do a better job of turning kids off it than any parental warnings or PSAs.
The commitment he maintained to his artistic vision in the face of difficulty in getting his short stories and poetry published, finding people committed to his musical endeavors, and in-band politics is inspiring.
At it's core the book is about how he felt and as an overview of his most emotionally significant moments I don't think he's holding anything back.