Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Paul Williams doesn't attempt to understand Christianity, but he does attempt to explain Dylan's conversion to it. The book consists of the semi-random speculations of a Dylan fan, and it is filled with tentative conclusions drawn largely from Dylan's song lyrics and public-record information about his life. It offers no new startling insights.
Williams, like many Dylan fans, was none too thrilled about Dylan's conversion or the condemnatory arrogance that accompanied his new music. (The condemnation was nothing new, only the object had changed.) However, Williams does at least appreciate the quality of the music Dylan produced during this period. He appropriately attacks the critics who refuse to acknowledge Dylan's post-60's genius.
Much of the book seems to be only slightly relevant to the topic. As far as the title question is concerned, the author basically argues that because Dylan could not find salvation in women, he sought it in Christ. The musician's conversion does not concern Williams so much as the possibility that Dylan might try to force Christianity "on the rest of us." Dylan's conversion was horrifying to many of his fans. This is perhaps because these fans had related so closely with Dylan's words for so long, that when the musician accepted Christ, they were forced to ask, as does Williams, "where have we diverged? Is he wrong, or . . . does this mean one day I'm going to wake up in love with Jesus too?" A scary thought to a lot of people.
On the whole, there is not much substance to be gleaned from this book with reference to the title subject, but if you like reading opinions of Dylan's music, it should prove an interesting book. The question that remains (besides what really happened, which the author never answers very well), is: What does Dylan believe now? Is he still a Christian? Williams words of 1979 might have been prophetic: "I can't say he'll be any more faithful to the Lord than he was to Sara. . . But the evidence is already in that this is one heck of a passionate relationship."
Click Here to see more reviews about: Dylan - What Happened
0 comments:
Post a Comment