Review by Booklist Review
O'Brien's background as a feminist rock critic and biographer informs this insightful reconsideration of Karen Carpenter's career. O'Brien avoids casting the gifted drummer and singer, who died at 32 from anorexia nervosa, as helpless victim or doomed saint. Instead, she draws upon extensive primary sources to construct a more robust portrait. The girl who absorbs the music of her father's eclectic record collection becomes a teenager who spends hours mastering her drum line parts. When her older brother's drummer misses band practice, she jumps in, becoming a gigging musician before graduating high school. Her rich, resonant singing voice catapults the Carpenters to the top of the charts, and the "Lead Sister" (a nickname Karen proudly embraces after a Japanese mistranslation of "lead singer") becomes a savvy artist and producer. O'Brien approaches Carpenter's eating disorder with sensitivity, presenting contemporary research on anorexia alongside an exploration of the societal and familial dynamics that contributed to her illness. An important book for readers interested in the history of women in rock and a necessary one for Carpenters fans.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Music journalist O'Brien (She Bop) reconstructs the life of 1970s and early '80s pop star Carpenter, from the "intense musical creativity" and sonorous voice that propelled her to fame to the industry and cultural pressures she battled and the anorexia that eventually contributed to her death in 1983. Raised in New Haven, Conn., Carpenter was "driven by an instinctive rhythm and musical passion" that ignited when she started playing the drums in her high school marching band. In 1969, at age 19, she teamed up with her pianist brother Richard to form a musical duo that wove "lush soundscapes of melodic pop" and grew into "one of the biggest-selling acts of the 1970s and early 1980s," though becoming the duo's vocalist left her less opportunity to drum onstage--a serious blow, according to O'Brien, because Carpenter had used the instrument to express herself. Diet struggles had plagued her since childhood, and as the stressors of fame intensified, so did her determination to control her body through laxatives and food restriction, causing heart problems that led to her death. Mining Carpenter's music, as well as original interviews with those who knew her, O'Brien paints a nuanced portrait of both an inimitable, culture-defining artist and a highly visible casualty of the music industry's "relentless promotion" of women as uniformly thin, "saleable commodities." Carpenter's fans will be rapt. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
O'Brien (She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music) tells the beautiful, hauntingly sad tale of Carpenter, the superstar with the singularly mellifluous, transcendent voice, part of the sibling band the Carpenters. Carpenter died on February 4, 1983, at age 32, from cardiotoxic complications as a result of anorexia. The book delves into familial Carpenter exegesis to isolate significant and recurring stressors that exacerbated her condition. These include her family's unyielding focus on her only and older sibling, Richard, as the star of their musical partnership; her overbearing and controlling mother; Karen's preoccupation with perfectionism; and her relentless touring and recording schedule. She also felt the burden of feeling financially responsible for maintaining the Carpenter machine and all those who depended on it. This book further examines her label and her brother's decision to stop Carpenter from playing the drums--her primary delight as a musician--and have her front the band as lead vocalist. O'Brien's choice to begin this book with an invocation and end it with a benediction reflects the spiritual regard with which she approaches her subject. VERDICT This may well become the definitive biography of Carpenter and an excellent companion to Randy L. Schmidt's Little Girl Blue. Pop music fans will appreciate this strong biography.--Barry X. Miller
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