Life with My Sister Madonna

I really enjoyed reading this book book very much. It's funny, interesting, but I expected that because of the topic. Granted I am not a fan of Madonna's music or her as a person, I don't know her but with this book I feel like I have an idea of what she's like.

Bobby Brown, another compelling biography!!!
Imagine being in one of the most successful boy bands of all time, New Edition; Then leave the group to become one of the biggest pop stars in the world; Date some of the most world renown celebrities, such as Janet Jackson and Madonna.....Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But...

I eventually got around to reading this book as I was quite intrigued by it. I've been a long time fan of Madonna and always found her to be quite a character throughout her career.
So this book gave me the chance to go behind the scenes with someone who was genuinely close to her. I always ignored the other unauthorized biographies. But I was careful at first when I approached Ciccone's book simply because from the outside it all looks like he has done all this from a bitter perspective.
In the end, I found the book to be bitter but fair nonetheless. He has given Madonna credit where credit is due but has called her out on things that are unacceptable no matter how rich and famous you may be. And there were certain parts when I wondered if he was thinking with his five senses. Like when he accuses Madonna of outing him without his permission when she did that interview for The Advocate in the early 90's. I'll give Madonna the benefit of the doubt on that one. I mean he went as far as saying that she needed to reconnect with her gay fans since she was becoming too heterosexually mainstream at that time and used him by outing him in such a public manner to prove that she was still with the gays. Quite honestly, I don't think that was the case. Madonna was still rolling with the Justify my love controversy and her big hit Vogue was only a few years prior! And you just don't get any gayer than that!
I also found it interesting how he skipped over certain parts in her life that must've been vital like the abortions that she herself admitted to having in several interviews. What about the Dennis Rodman love affair?? I was quite perplexed by that and would've loved his take on that.
All in all, it's a good entertaining read! If you're a hardcore Madonna fan then i'd suggest to let your guard down a little and approach this with an open mind and an open heart. Madonna is great artist but like all of us, she isn't perfect and has many faults. This is the chance for you to get an idea of what she must be like in real life. And if nothing is new to you in this book, then consider it a simple and valid confirmation from someone who would've given her an arm and a leg which probably was his only mistake in life.

Predictably, her brother trashes Madonna's selfish side, her greed and the way he claims she mistreated him over the years, despite all the things he did for her such as decorate her mansions, design her look, dress her at her concerts and all but manage her early tours, not to mention her early days as a club singer in New York. But he evades the question of whether or not he was a drug addict and alcoholic, denying it throughout the book until the end when he becomes more than a bit ambiguous about this. He says Madonna always claimed he was sick. We'll not learn the truth from this. Still, the book is a juicy tell-all from the ultimate insider. It neglects the music for tidbits about the woman. Of course, the music is what will really matter in the long run. You won't be able to resist this once you start reading.

The quote on the back jacket of this books feels true: you can't understand Madonna without understanding her brother Christopher. He proves it with this book, the first thing I've ever read about Madonna that makes her seem like a true, flesh-and-blood human being. She should be grateful to Christopher for many things, but particularly this one: he helped us see her as a real woman, warts and all. Horrible! she would probably respond. However, I can identify so much more with her because of this portrait. Here are two children who have been grieving the early death of their mother. One is a driven Me Monster, the other a confused, frightened little boy who just needed a lot of hugs, and confused the Me Monster with the mother he didn't get. All those of us who didn't have a mother or didn't get our mother's love can feel for both siblings. Sadly, unlike her friend Gianni Versace, who splurged royally on his sibling, and made her feel totally loved, Madonna appears to have "cheaped out" on Christopher, in a push-pull relationship that has him sleeping in crappy hotel rooms, flying coach while Big Sister is living it up in first class, and often withholding money for jobs he did for her, as control-freak blackmail. Ugh. That's not a pretty picture. But it is understandable, because her mother was tragically lost to her, that Madonna is stingy, greedy and driven, and that she doesn't know the concept, "SHOWER the people you love with love." Of course, she's probably different with her kids, but if anyone needed her total, one hundred per cent love and support - and someone who gave his to her, unconditionally - it's Christopher. I hope Madonna gets onto herself and stops thinking that she's "done so much" for her kid brother, because so far, no matter how conciliatory Christopher is, finally, in this book, it's obvious that Madonna has let her brother down again and again, coldly and imperiously. Hey, Maddie - he was there for you all the way, right from the start. How about playing against type and crawling on your hands and knees to beg for his forgiveness? I can assure you, this is the true message of all spiritual disciplines: unconditional love and amends (to the hilt) for one's crappy behavior. And snap it up. You're not getting any younger. P.S. My kid brother passed away four years ago and it ripped my heart out. Believe me, there is nothing sadder than losing a sweet baby brother who adored you and whom you adored - your "buddy" from early on. The regrets at how you dropped the ball with Christopher would be legion if you lost him.

It's a very good read but I don't think I can say I learned anything new besides Madonna's relationship with different family members which were NOT surprising in the least. I think this book pretty much confirms the assumptions that have always been made by the public about Madonna and her character and how she pretty much stepped on people (and slept with a few) to make it to the top.

You can definitely feel the resentment and anger that her brother has but he does commend her drive, motivation and self promotion as very big part of her success, but also says that's her only talent. He rubs me the wrong way and there are quite a few things I tend not to believe because I truly believe that he feels she owes him a living.

I think she would have been happy to keep him on the payroll but she totally cut him off because of his drug problem which he "glosses over" in the book. Saying that because Madonna is so against drugs she turned his drug use into something that it's not - yeah ok. He is a drug addict and she will not contribute to the problem and the book is how he will still continue to make money off of her but this time without her consent.