SPILL BOOK REVIEW: PATTI SMITH – BREAD OF ANGELS: A MEMOIR

PATTI SMITH – BREAD OF ANGELS: A MEMOIR

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE 

BOOK REVIEW BY TRISH MELANSON

Where there is love, there will be loss. Two sides of a coin that inextricably coexist. No one can prepare you for the amount of loss you will experience in your lifetime. Sadly, this is one of the themes rock icon Patti Smith explores in her latest memoir, Bread of Angels.

Known in the music world as the legendary New York punk artist, Patti Smith was a huge figure in the mid ‘70s wave of female artists who would break into the male dominated charts. Her 1975 solo debut release, Horses, was one of the most influential albums of the 20th century. Yet, her music is only a small fragment of what defines Patti Smith. She is known in the academic world as an author and a poet. Her poetry has been published in dozens of books. A photographer, a novelist, actor, an activist, a feminist, and an influence on musicians who came after her, the list seems endless. Also endless is the list of of accolades, honourary degrees, awards, and prizes she has earned. She has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards over the years. She was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Officer of the French Legion of Honor. No doubt, this list is incomplete.

Bread of Angels is the fourth of Smith’s memoirs to be released, following 2010’s Just Kids, 2015’s M Train, and 2019’s Year of the Monkey. Spanning pretty much her entire life, from her earliest stream of consciousness recollections as a young child growing up in an impoverished New Jersey housing complex, to modern day and her return to writing and touring. The book focuses on her relationships with the metaphoric “Four Dresses,” each one embodying her relationship with God, with art, with her music, and with those she loved and lost.

The starched fold of a Communion Dress. The fragile remnants of a dress of art. A party dress, delicate as a handkerchief, possessing the upright naivete of rock and roll, given to me by my brother. Lastly, a pristine Victorian tea gown, my wedding gown, embodying vows and tears shed for my husband, who I loved for a time more than myself.

From her earliest recollections, Smith shares the joys, the losses, and everything in between, that shaped and influenced her life, lead by her “rebel hump,” the inner passenger that directs her writer’s hand. She also tells the stories of her early years as a poet and musician, time spent with the Dalai Lama, as well as her simple, idyllic years married to the love of her life, Fred “Sonic” Smith. She walked away from Patti Smith Group and her music career to immerse herself completely in family life. She would release only one album with her husband, who tragically was taken far too soon, leaving Patti a widow at the young age of 47. Smith also retells and reveals some life changing family secrets, reshaping her origin story.

The poet who shared close friendships and deep connections with Beat Poets William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, as well as a friendship and a deep, mutual admiration with Bob Dylan, has done no less than beautifully craft a master piece of prose through which she relives and retells the story of her life. Her magical poetry transforms even the mundane into a beautiful kaleidoscope in the reader’s mind. As she tells, “And then it struck me: Everything was a potential poem. The stoic prayers of the mantis, the knowing eyes of my dog, the pen scratching. The white snake stirred, and the invisible lines of the rebel hump flickered then shimmered like the coat of many colors.”

There are so many facets to Patti Smith – so many dresses – this volume can only cover a few snapshots of her life. There is not doubt overlap between the four tomes of her story. Musician, writer, poet, feminist, human rights activist, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, the dresses fill her closet and overflow. There is something here for everyone. Audiophiles will thoroughly enjoy the anecdotal stories, as well as the descriptions of the artistic and creative development around her debut solo album, 1975’s Horses, as well as two iconic releases with Patti Smith Group, 1978’s Easter (1978) and 1979’s Wave. However, you would be grossly mistaken for expecting nothing more than another rock biography here. Lovers of poetry will devour Bread of Angels. Every page, every paragraph, every word, every memory, so beautifully written. Bread of Angels is a definite must-read. In fact, it is a must-read-twice. I, for one, already have.

ISBN-10: 1101875127
ISBN-13: 9781101875124

PURCHASE BREAD OF ANGELS VIA