What do you think?
Rate this book
Death in June: Misery and Purity
A history and personal interpretation of Death in June224 page book containing DEATH IN JUNE lyrics, reviews, translation of French and German interviews, and 29 unpublished photos LIMITED EDITION OF 2000 copies.
- GenresMusic
224 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1995
6 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Robert Forbes
83 booksThere is more than one person in the Goodreads catalog with this name. This entry is for Robert ^ Forbes.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 22, 2018
"But we desecrate at the touch, and touch defiles..."
I'm quite frankly amazed at all the high ratings of this book. Sure there are a decent amount of tidbits here and there that shine some light on a few of the many mysteries behind the project, but the retention of mystery is part of the appeal. The chase is better than the catch. There is a passage in this book that reads: "[...] and the fact tht [sic] DEATH IN JUNE is for Douglas P. a very, very personal experience, many of the lyrics will defy any interpretation. Their strength lies in what personal meanings and conclusions we can draw from them. But does this book, with its very being, and its interpretations of lyrics thus constitute an act of defilement?" The answer is yes. It's so poorly written, I can't even begin to describe it. How old is this guy? 15? I was only ever able to read a chapter a day at best before I couldn't take it anymore. It's also mentioned in the preface that some of the interview sources used are known to be fake. What gives?
The book chronicles the history of the band from the earliest days up until the end of 1994 (with the release of 'Rose Clouds...' on the horizon), and there is a quick chapter on CRISIS at the end. There are some good archival photos and scans of magazine/newspaper clippings throughout, on top of the scattering of aforementioned "oh, huh, cool, didn't know that" moments, but I must say this is for completists only and definitely not worth anywhere near the price it fetches on eBay. A better idea would have been to collect and reprint all of the interviews this book quotes so often and simply expand upon those when necessary. At the end of the day my advice is to just be mindful of your money when you're seeking this one out and to not expect very much of it.
I'm quite frankly amazed at all the high ratings of this book. Sure there are a decent amount of tidbits here and there that shine some light on a few of the many mysteries behind the project, but the retention of mystery is part of the appeal. The chase is better than the catch. There is a passage in this book that reads: "[...] and the fact tht [sic] DEATH IN JUNE is for Douglas P. a very, very personal experience, many of the lyrics will defy any interpretation. Their strength lies in what personal meanings and conclusions we can draw from them. But does this book, with its very being, and its interpretations of lyrics thus constitute an act of defilement?" The answer is yes. It's so poorly written, I can't even begin to describe it. How old is this guy? 15? I was only ever able to read a chapter a day at best before I couldn't take it anymore. It's also mentioned in the preface that some of the interview sources used are known to be fake. What gives?
The book chronicles the history of the band from the earliest days up until the end of 1994 (with the release of 'Rose Clouds...' on the horizon), and there is a quick chapter on CRISIS at the end. There are some good archival photos and scans of magazine/newspaper clippings throughout, on top of the scattering of aforementioned "oh, huh, cool, didn't know that" moments, but I must say this is for completists only and definitely not worth anywhere near the price it fetches on eBay. A better idea would have been to collect and reprint all of the interviews this book quotes so often and simply expand upon those when necessary. At the end of the day my advice is to just be mindful of your money when you're seeking this one out and to not expect very much of it.
February 25, 2018
This was like a mix between a very poorly edited essay (has the author never heard of footnotes?) and a blog post (the author asks the reader questions, as if this is interactive), with very little research actually done (save for the monotonous minutia concerning runes and symbols).
You can download a pdf of this on Wikipedia. You would have to be actually insane to spend any amount of money on this.
You can download a pdf of this on Wikipedia. You would have to be actually insane to spend any amount of money on this.
April 24, 2024
Author raises a lot of interesting questions, but gives few concrete answers. A lot of his personal reflections here. I must admit that some of the interpretations of the songs are very interesting and gave me a new perspective on DiJ work. However, while reading it, I had the impression as if it was a preliminary sketch, which could become a good book if the author explored the subject more thoroughly.
February 2, 2013
If you're a fan of DIJ than you'll love it...it's the only biography on Douglas P., only 2000 were printed in 1995 so good luck tracking this down, they went quick and are going for alot esp. for a paperback but worth it if you find a copy(printed in Europe). For a review: I've been a fan for 20+ years and it's a fantastic book, I don't have a whole hay of a lot to say but I'll repeat myself, track this down, you will not regret it. Post Script: Douglas P. thought it was excellent so there you go. Happy reading;-)
May 3, 2021
Good god this was tedious. Just awful. The three or four interesting tidbits about DIJ that are actually in here don't warrant the other 200+ pages of the author's inane lyrical interpretations. The guy constantly poses questions to himself and the reader so often that there's over 600 question marks in this tiny book. Ctrl+F the pdf if you don't believe me.
Like someone else said, don't pay any money for this on ebay under any circumstances. If you *have to* have in paper go the library and tell them you need to print off resumes or something.
Like someone else said, don't pay any money for this on ebay under any circumstances. If you *have to* have in paper go the library and tell them you need to print off resumes or something.
Read
February 27, 2016"Overwhelm me with Nothing
But, Nothing and Nothing"
But, Nothing and Nothing"
February 8, 2023
Good luck finding a copy of pdf of this.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews