A Review of Bob Dylan’s Memoir “Chronicles: Volume One”

Chronicles: Volume OneChronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan
 
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 
It’s Dylan so not surprisingly the prose is highly lyrical. Honestly I was blown away by Dylan’s otherworldly ability to describe in exquisite detail…color schemes, books lining a shelf, passengers on a train, a shop owner…events of 50+ years ago. It was fascinating and educational to explore, through Dylan’s eyes, his start in music, including his many influences. Though I knew about Woody Guthrie’s hold on Dylan, it was cool to be introduced to the many characters of the early 1960s New York Greenwich Village folk scene, including several African Americans like Odetta and Spike Lee’s dad, bassist Bill Lee. A few times the chronology confused me and frankly I think that was intentional. For example, throughout the memoir Dylan refers to his “wife” without a name. Unless you know Dylan’s biography you’d have no clue he was talking about two different women and the second one is African American. Even if you’re not a Dylan fan though, it’s a wonderful read. 


 
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