No fan of country music or Dolly Parton, I read this biography by an admiring Kansas contemporary from a similar background, hoping to enlarge my horizons and maybe revise my low opinion of Dolly. It had a great review in the New Yorker. My objectives were not fulfilled. The author liberally intersperses distracting autobiography, and references to hundreds of music pieces that I never encountered or enjoyed.
Unabashedly laudatory of Dolly, the disjointed account of her career is loaded with attempts to justify her many contradictions and inconsistencies. They do not quite work.
One needs to admire anyone who rises from abject rural poverty to become a very wealthy cultural icon and a generous philanthropist dedicated to helping those who are trapped in the circumstances of her youth, and there is no doubt that Dolly Parton is kind, altruistic and sincere. But there is little depth to her intellectual rationalization and an overriding need for public adulation and monetary gain let her simultaneously flaunt herself as a sex object and a promoter of women’s causes. And her abundant use of plastic surgery speaks of a vanity and refusal to accept the natural effects of aging, not justified by her assertion that she needs it for her work. Her superficial understanding of her Christian faith apparently does not include any need for modesty.
I did gain more respect for some of the positives of Parton’s efforts on behalf of others, but I am a bit concerned that philanthropy and advocacy at the hands of poorly educated cultural icons and pop stars has more potential for abuse and negative consequences than that provided by the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates.
The writing is rambling and inconsistent in both chronology and topics covered. The author is adept at man-bashing and seems keen to take offence at any criticism of herself, Parton, or country music, implying that criticism or expressing dislike of country music is unacceptable discrimination, and rude. I would prefer to be thought of as discriminating in my music tastes.
The best feature of this book is its brevity.
The Passionate Reader 