Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter
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Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter by Lucy O'brien
***Nominated for the 2024 Penderyn Music Book Prize*** A Times Book of the Year A Financial Times Book of the Year A Waterstones Book of the Year 'Reading the book made me want to give her a huge hug.'A fascinating but tragic story.' 4/5 -- Mojo
'A book that dares to challenge orthodoxy and rewrites the story of the Carpenters. Lucy O'Brien brings a sparkling feminism to a remarkable pop act.' -- Stuart Cosgrove
'(A) detailed, definitive and deeply empathetic portrait.' -- Jim Irvin (Mojo Magazine)
'O'Brien has succeeded in repositioning Karen Carpenter as something considerably more than just a haunted figure.' -- Bob Stanley
'Bravo to one of the all-time best authors of our time: O'Brien delivers again. Just when you think we could not learn anything else about a pop icon, Lead Sister (re)introduces Carpenter as a multi-dimensional, inspiring, complicated human. For too long, she has been canonised as a sugary yet tragic icon; O'Brien removes the shackles of simplified myth to expose the innovator and trailblazer while bravely examining the layered complications of family, fame, mental health and desire. I could not put it down.' -- Jennifer Otter Bickerdike
'In Lead Sister, O'Brien gives us Karen Carpenter the consummate musician, master of at least two instruments and a range of production techniques, the fun, funny companion - to both friends and bandmates - and the fully complex woman.' -- Dr Lisa Gee
'An insightful and sensitive biography that reframes Karen Carpenter as a supremely talented musician, who created great songs while struggling with a devastating illness. O'Brien colours in the era beautifully, explaining the trends in popular music, fashion and feminism, as well as describing the unique dynamic within the Carpenter family and how it contributed to Karen's illness. I found it incredibly moving and a worthy tribute to an extraordinary woman.' -- Gill Paul
8/10 -- Uncut
'Empathetic in tone and unsparing in detail...O'Brien's Karen emerges as a smart but naive woman enslaved by both her disease and the expectations of those around her. She should have been treated better: Lead Sister treats her well indeed.' -- iNews
Dr Lucy O'Brien is a writer/academic and author of She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular, Dusty: The Classic Biography and Madonna: Like an Icon, as well as co-authoring Skin's memoir, It Takes Blood and Guts.
Lucy was a judge for the Penderyn Music Book Prize in 2018 and has contributed to numerous publications including Q, Mojo, NME the Sunday Times, the Guardian, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire. She is also a TV/radio broadcaster, having co-produced Righteous Babes, the Channel 4 film about women in rock, and scripted the BBC Radio 2 series She Bop.
Her PhD is on women's agency and power in popular music and, back in 1979/80, she played in all-female punk band, the Catholic Girls.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781788708272 |
| ISBN 10 | 178870827X |
| Title | Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter |
| Author | Lucy O'brien |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bonnier Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2024-02-15 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |