Review Roundup: “My Extraordinary, Ordinary Life” by Sissy Spacek, and Richard Perry’s Haunting Tale of True Crime in Tokyo

June 11, 2012 | 0 Comments
By Joe Muscolino

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“My Extraordinary, Ordinary Life,” by Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek has skirted the vanity of Hollywood with great aplomb. Despite being an Academy-Award winning actress for the 1980 Coal Miner’s Daughter, as well as the famed demon-child in Carrie, she has remained relatively unaffected by the glitz and glamour of stardom. And now the consensus is in: Sissy Spacek’s new memoir does not disappoint. The humility and earnestness she exudes off-stage shines through in “My Extraordinary, Ordinary Life.” According to Margaret Moser of the Austin Chronicle, Spacek’s memoir is “as easy to read as it is a pleasure to digest.” Cleansed by her candor is Susan Wloszczyna from USAToday: “What will likely keep you turning pages are the off-screen adventures that are told with disarming candor by this determinedly down-home celebrity.” Jen Chaney of The Washington Post agrees, calling it a “refreshingly down-to-earth and often beautifully written book,” and noting how “Spacek, at 62, reminds us why she’s been a cinematic fixture for nearly four decades.” Despite leading an “ordinary” life, her impact and her legacy are “truly extraordinary.”
Bio-Metric: 5/5

“The People Who Eat Darkness,” by Richard Lloyd Perry
British foreign correspondent Richard Lloyd Perry may have just upped the ante for all future true crime books. The re-release of his riveting tale, “The People Who Eat Darkness,” explores the mysterious disappearance of Lucie Blackman in Tokyo, followed by the shocking discovery of her body one year later. By the sound of the reviews, “Darkness” is a twisted marriage of high-lit and true grit, and reviewers are clawing at a chance to sing its praises. There is “a darkness at the heart of this book,” writes Susan Chira of The New York Times, something “Parry conveys with extraordinary effect and emotion” since he does “not pretend to offer pat answers to obscene mysteries.” To Gregory Leon Miller of the San Francisco Chronicle, “Parry is a sensitive, knowledgeable guide” as he presents “a nightmare that engulfs an entire city.” Carolyn Kellogg of The Los Angeles Times notes how the impact of this book may favor American readers who are less likely to know the British Blackman, and therefore more likely to be swept away by the novelty of the tale. But regardless which side of the pond you stand on, “Parry skillfully goes beyond the headlines in the 2000 disappearance of fellow Brit Lucie Blackman in Tokyo. It is a dark, unforgettable ride.”
Bio-Metric: 4.5/5

Tags: Actress, Hollywood, Memoir, My Extraordinary, Ordinary Life, Richard Lloyd Perry, Sissy Spacek, The People Who Eat Darkness, Tokyo, True Crime
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