The Remarkable Life of Leonard Cohen: new biography (2010)

[TineDoes]

As a non native speaker the mentioned proofing mistakes don't readily jump out at me. I am a good way into the (hardcover) book and enjoying it very much. I have read both biographies 'Hallelujah' and 'Various Positions'. If I were to recomend a Leonard Cohen biography to another non native speaker it would now be 'a remarkable life'. It reads smoothly, is not too difficult and old and new facts are included naturaly within the story line.

Tineke

[caz]

Hi Anthony

I've sent you a PM. I agree with you about the thread not degenerating into a corrections list. And despite all my comments above, I am enjoying the book: it is very different in style to Footman's, and certainly longer!

Cheers
Carole

[caz]

you could make a note of typo's

PS - Who is typo and what is it belonging to him that you'd like us to make a note of......?

[TheWrongMan]

I've spent a fair bit of the weekend reading the book and I think it's great.
Although the mistakes (and i'm sorry Mr. R but there are quite a few) are a minor irritation, there's a lot more meat on this than on other recent attempts.
The text is well researched and the new interviews add a lot of detail that make it a very enjoyable read.

[musicmania]

I've spent a fair bit of the weekend reading the book and I think it's great.
Although the mistakes (and i'm sorry Mr. R but there are quite a few) are a minor irritation, there's a lot more meat on this than on other recent attempts.
The text is well researched and the new interviews add a lot of detail that make it a very enjoyable read.

I'm about half way through and feel there were more mistakes at the start than there is now. I'm not keeping track of them this read but will proof read again when I'm finished. Might be a couple of weeks though as work is extremely busy so doing long hours.

[caz]

I tried to ignore them but couldn't! So I have been keeping track: not sure what to do with my notes when I've finished them! (Anthony: do you want them?)

Happy reading, all

Carole

[david birkett]

The book should have been recalled, pulped and reissued.

[Mabeanie1]

The book should have been recalled, pulped and reissued.

I didn't post any comment at the time but, to be honest, I had a very similar reaction to AR's suggestion that current readers point out the typos etc for the benefit of owners of future editions. I felt his comment was totally disrespectful of the people like us who have supported his work by purchasing the first edition.

Wendy

[LisaLCFan]

I guess one thing that bothers me about all the typos is that it is a book about Leonard Cohen, who is a perfectionist who famously chooses each and every word with utmost care before presenting it to the public. And yet, his life is presented in a book published by a company that couldn't be bothered to have it properly proof-read. Irony, anybody?

[cohenadmirer]

I guess one thing that bothers me about all the typos is that it is a book about Leonard Cohen, who is a perfectionist who famously chooses each and every word with utmost care before presenting it to the public. And yet, his life is presented in a book published by a company that couldn't be bothered to have it properly proof-read. Irony, anybody?

I THINK THIS IS AN ENJOYABLE BOOK BASICALLY. i had hoped that leonard had been influenced away from the burden of perfectionism. ( forget your perfect offering/ there is a crack in everything/ thats how the light gets in)
i guess though he will agonise next year to get each track on the new album just right - even though there is no such thing and any take would no doubt be more than good enough. it was kind of nice in the concerts when the moment produced litle mistakes , the imperfection somehow made the whole thing more perfect !

[AnthonyR]

Thanks for the ...input...but disrespectful? I don't think so. If people are noticing and being bothered by such errors to the point where it's spoiling the overall experience of the book then it's surely constructive to use the resultant energy in a positive way rather than just list complaints on a public forum? Anyway, it was a suggestion, not a condition of reading the book.

Pulped? This is a laughable over-reaction and completely impractical and unneccessary. I must admit I was a bit envious of Franzen's recent recall and pulping of his latest novel (I fantasised of having the same clout when I realised my name had been omitted from the spine of this, my first hardcover, and that the cover also lists two different titles) but the fate of a book is out of the author's hands the moment the final draft is submitted ; I do not even own this book ; it belongs to Music Press/Omnibus.

The bulk of work involved in such a book - at least in the way I do them - is in the research of new information ; finding people and talking to them and processing that information in a fluent, beguiling language. That's what I get off on reading myself (as far as Biographies go) and that's how I get my kicks as far as actually writing goes. I'm not obsessed by the mechanics and minute details of grammar as some or others may be. I trust the proof reader and editor to take care of any errors in this department, especially when having to complete a book within a strict deadline.

(Its maybe worth noting that none of the reviews I've seen so far have even mentioned the main bone of contention here).

All said and done, I don't read books with a ruler and a dictionary to hand but I accept that others do and will consequently judge a book by their own standards.

(I am working on a new book now and interviewed a once famous musician yesterday. We talked of Cohen and he told me he couldn't bear Leonard's music because of the 'montone quality' of his voice, as he saw it, and the 'drone like limitations' of Cohen's melodies. I had to accept that this was perhaps a fair criticisim but it certainly wan't one that applied to my LC listening experience).

So if anyone here is having their reading experience ruined by errors in grammar and syntax etc then do let me have a list of those errors if you feel like it and I'll pass them on for the editing of the Paperback edition and you'll be credited in that edition. If you can't be bothered and would rather just leave barbed one liners on a public forum, that's fine too. I'm making a suggestion, not a demand.

I have colleagues, friends and especially a better half who despair at me letting my thoughts be known on a forum like this but to paraphrase LC himself, when responding to an unruly audience : 'Hey...I have rights too'...

[TipperaryAnn]

I THINK THIS IS AN ENJOYABLE BOOK .

I agree; I "gobbled it up " over a few days and have now started re-reading it at a more leisurely pace. ( Not to note all the mistakes - yes, typos can be irritating, but are not the author's fault. Besides, some of the posts here could do with more proof reading themselves! )
It is good that Anthony Reynolds is prepared to discuss his book on the Forum. I think he has largely succeeded in writing "fluent, beguiling " English, and he managed to come up with some unfamiliar photos and many new quotations about Leonard, no mean achievement at this stage!
I particularly liked the background information about the recording of the albums and learning more about those involved, especially John Lissauer, who comes across as a very forgiving man. Indeed, most of those interviewed speak well of LC ; one negative voice does get a lot of notice towards the end of the book, presumably in the interests of balance - maybe he was the only one who could be found to say a bad word about him !
Am I correct in assuming that Anthony Reynolds has never met Leonard himself? I am sure he would have liked to, but we know how busy Leonard has been. It does seem unfortunate too that the only concert the author attended was the only one out of more than 200 which Leonard was unable to finish! But then he was busy too, writing this book.
My favourite biography of Leonard is still "Various Positions" by Ira Nadel, but I rate Anthony Reynolds's above the others I have read, and of course it has the advantage of bringing the story of this "remarkable life" up to date.

[caz]

Hi again Anthony.

Yes, I can be bothered, and in the spirit of constructive criticism I will send you some info when I've finished: happy to help out.

I think there's a danger here of the errors overshadowing the content. A good book is about two things to my mind: substance and presentation. I'm now over half way in (slow by my usual standards as it happens) and although I think the latter is disappointing in this case (I think you've been let down by the proofers: your job is done by the time things get to that stage) I have no complaints about the former and agree with other reviewers here. And of the two elements (yes, I know you shouldn't start a sentence with And ) the substance is more important.

Whilst I also take your point about grammar and punctuation, it is important that this is right. OK so it's sometimes seen as being Old School to think this, but I'm proud of my command of such things. As a primary teacher I believe that children's creativity shouldn't be stifled in their early literacy endeavours by rigid adherence to convention but I do believe that the "rules" should be taught. Having said that, I'm not suggesting that you are ignorant in these rules: many are typos anyway and as I said, I think they slipped under the proofreading radar which is not your pigeon!

Best wishes

Carole

[caz]

P.S. I think it's great that you visit this Forum too, comments from colleagues and other halves notwithstanding!

[david birkett]

I am not attempting to be 'barbed'. I work for a publisher, and on those rare occasions when we allow a book to be printed with as many errors as this one has, we protect our reputation as a professional and responsible producer of literature by withdrawing and pulping it. This philosophy prevails even though we are a tiny organisation, with nothing like the resources of an Omnibus. There is no shame - rather the opposite - in expecting a professionally produced publication to adhere to the most basic rules of spelling.

I enjoyed this book, and certainly have no axes - personal, philosophical or otherwise - to grind with the author, but I don't think it should fall to the readers to copy-edit this or any other publication.

Best regards to all involved in this discussion.


David