Title: Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah
Author:
Nicolas Otero
Genre:
Graphic Novels, Magic Realism, Contemporary, Biography, Non-Fiction* (*ish)
Release
Date: 8th November
A
few starting notes:
I
received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley.
NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair
and honest reviews.
If anyone who has bipolar disorder and/or drug/alcohol addiction problems has reviewed this book, let me know and I will provide a link to your review.
This is weird. And probably needs to come wrapped in a 'trigger warning' protective plastic cover.
That said, this was interesting - so let's get down to this review, shall we?
Premise:
Kurt Cobain's suicide note was addressed to Boddah.
Now, given the amount of conspiracy theories over Cobain's death, Boddah's identity and role has been discussed a lot.
The simple truth, though, is that Boddah was Cobain's imaginary friend as a kid.
This is the story of Nirvana, Kurt, Courtney, and Kurt's death - as told by Boddah.
Best
bits:
Otero seems to honestly feel for Cobain - which stops the book from feeling as exploitative as I feared it would. (It still does feel disrespectful though - see next section.)
We're encouraged to empathise with a man who was, at heart, actually very childlike and lost.
I felt like the image of Kurt given here was one of an actual human being - as opposed to the caricature or legend that he's become since his death.
This book is also down-right heart-breaking. You are right there with Courtney screaming at Kurt to open the bathroom door, watching him as he slowly self-destructs, and unable to help.
The artwork is serviceable - and the boldness of the more experimental hallucinatory-type panels was sometimes breath-taking.
The way Boddah seems so realistic is impressive. He loves Kurt; when Kurt is gone... the panels where Boddah is left without him are just heart-breaking.
Not
so great bits:
Things drawn graphically in this book that people need to be aware of:
drug-use (including heroin injection and joint smoking)
sex
child abuse (physical, emotional)
guns (and a suicidal fascination with them)
attempted suicide
drying-out in rehab
self-harm (I think... not 100%, I might be misremembering - a lot happened in this book)
hallucinations
childbirth
suicide - including a VERY graphic image of Kurt's dead body.
There's also swearing - but, to be honest, if you can get beyond the things listed above, swear-words aren't going to bother you.
The question of respect for both the living and the dead is a difficult one in this book.
Honestly? (And you guys know I'm always honest with you.) I found it quite disrespectful.
I sincerely doubt that anyone bothered to get Courtney Love's permission to draw her explicitly having sex with her late husband - and that's NOT OK. It's just not.
Likewise, I doubt permission was obtained from any of Cobain's family to show the final distressing panel of his dead body. Again, that's NOT OK.
I DO NOT THINK THE SHOCK-VALUE IS WORTH HURTING PEOPLE. If these were fictional characters, maybe it would be different. But they're not.
You're dealing with REAL people here - have some f**king respect, please!
I felt like Kurt's mental health problems weren't really explained. We got one or two blink-and-you'll-miss-them references to his bipolar disorder, and that is it.
Now, given that Kurt Cobain committed suicide, and there's a chance that Boddah was a hallucination brought on by the bipolar (or, indeed, a hallucination brought on by the drugs, or a combination of the two,) some attention to how his illness will have impacted on both his general mental state, and his susceptibility to drug and alcohol addiction, would have been a good idea.
Verdict:
It was interesting. It was readable. It was heart-breaking.
But there were also issues - and one's which can't be ignored; so give it a read if you want to, honestly, it's pretty fascinating, but do it with your eyes wide open.
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