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IAN CURTIS L'ame damnée de Joy Division
Cloaked in mystique, Joy Division's extraordinary vocalist Ian Curtis tragically took his own life in 1980, leaving just two haunting albums and a depleted band that would famously evolve into New Order. This title talks about Ian Curtis.
523 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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625 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 27, 2009
Lately, I am all things Joy Division. Queue the Miriam Collection Joy Division DVD I just purchased (which I would also highly recommend). I read reviews that this particular book about Ian Curtis is a difficult read as the authors jump around quite a bit. So far, I am enjoying this book. It’s interesting to get a new view of Ian. Previously, I read "Touching From a Distance" by his wife Deborah. I came away with a picture of a miserable bastard of a young man. And while I am sure he was at times, it is nice to see that prior to being diagnosed with epilepsy and forced to take very strong medication, Ian was very upbeat, happy and polite. Polite is the adjective that is mentioned time and time again.
This story is told from the people on the inside- the gang that was Factory Records. Poor Deborah didn't stand a chance, as it is very apparent it was very much a boys club. This book is filled with rare photos and interviews. I am anxiously waiting what is revealed about Ian through Annik Honore.
This story is told from the people on the inside- the gang that was Factory Records. Poor Deborah didn't stand a chance, as it is very apparent it was very much a boys club. This book is filled with rare photos and interviews. I am anxiously waiting what is revealed about Ian through Annik Honore.
June 12, 2018
I have read every single book ever written about Joy Division as they are my favorite band ever. This book is a must read for any Joy Division fan, especially if you've read Deborah Curtis' book. This book is as close as any of us will get to Ian's side of the story.
July 26, 2021
I am listening to Joy Division since 1994. Within their music and lyrics I am trying to deal with depression, the lack of happiness in my life and emptiness. It is important for me to understand his mental and emotional world. I didnt try to read Deborah's account coz I knew that it would be a biased one. This book helped me to understand the life of just another martyr just like Chester Bennington, Layne Staley, etc. Staying alive and dealing with your demons matters a lot today.
January 9, 2023
“That last track – the young men with the weight on their shoulders – was the way he was talking in his last days – with that same soft voice because he was so tired and confused and sad.” – Annik
August 19, 2023
Um... so feelings are mixed with this one. I definitely expected to like it way more than I actually did.
I keep reading about Ian Curtis. I will keep reading about him. He's fascinating and in many ways I believe that through his story and by understanding him we get to understand the key to human life and human sorrow. I catch myself often staring at his beautiful, harsh black and white photographs, sometimes keeping them open in random tabs in my browser, as old ladies keep pictures of their favourite saints as book markers. He means a lot to me.
It was great how this biography had information about his early years (provided by his mother and sister) and the last year of his life (provided by Annik Honoré, the girl that deeply loved him and probably understood him better than anyone else did at the time). I loved finding out about his childhood, how his classmates called him "Hammy" because of his chubby cheeks (god he was such a cute child, wasn't he?) and how he loved football and playing with animals. On the other hand, reading his letters to Annik was both beautiful and heartbreaking. I got really emotional at times reading how he narrated, in his own words, his downward spiral. It was simply heartbreaking to see how these letters became less and less coherent. How, at first, he was just a normal boy talking about his dog and the music he played and by the end he kept asking how he could go on and expressing how terrified he was about his illness.
The middle wasn't very new. I've read many times about Joy Division and their songwriting process and I definitely enjoyed the analysis of Unknown Pleasures, the rock record of all time, but there was rarely any information that isn't in all the other books about the band. It's always funny to read about the heavy jokes they played on each other and how sometimes they were just disgusting dirty boys having fun. I care much more about Ian Curtis the human than I care about Ian Curtis the legend. Every small detail about who he really was is precious, and this book definitely provided plenty, which made it enjoyable. Moreover, I really enjoyed to read Lindsay Reade's thoughts about Ian and the days she spent with him. I thought with time she really managed to understand him through reflection and she deeply cared about him.
However, it's far from being the perfect Ian Curtis biography. That one, I've yet to read. I don't think anyone has written such a thing. I wish this one were more objective and had gone a bit deeper into his marital problems and the toxicity of his relationship with Debbie, especially while they were teenagers and at the start of their marriage. This book leaves Debbie almost entirely out of the story, and I don't think that's fair because she's the one that spent the longest time with him and the one that was witness to his illness, mood swings and erratic behaviour. This is why her account of the events should have been at least mentioned here. One almost gets the impression, just by reading this book, that theirs was a perfect marriage. And it wasn't, by any means.
It does go deep into the reasons why their marriage crumbled and one can tell the writers have a lot of empathy for Ian and they understand why he acted the way he did, which is most necessary in any work about him. This book definitely has the empathy that the others don't and one gets to read what Ian experienced in his own words. The guilt, the confusion, the fear. It is also much more empathic than the film Control, that, as much as it is beautifully made and doesn't glorify its subject as most biopics do, it also completely lacks understanding for what Ian was going through.
It was good as well that the authors included the feelings those who met Ian had after his untimely death. It is important to remember that it was, most of all, a tragedy of which nobody saw the signs (because they didn't have the knowledge needed - and this is why mental health awareness is crucial) and that left everyone he knew deeply affected for the rest of their lives.
If this book is so understanding and reveals information never seen before about its subject, then what bothers me about it?
First of all, the way the authors treated Genesis P-Orridge and the absolute lack of respect they had towards their gender. I can't believe I had to read the phrase "He is now a woman!" with my own two eyes. It just takes a couple Google searches to know that Genesis transitioned a very long time ago, long before this book was written. Even if they didn't know at the time the book was written, it has been reissued several times, so they should have corrected this by now.
That was the main thing that irked me about the book (and it happens throughout the second half of the book).
Apart from that, I wasn't a big fan of how it was written. Some parts of the story weren't well-connected and at times, probably because the book was written by two different people. As well, sometimes there were unnecessary paragraphs praising the genius of Ian Curtis. If we are reading this book, we already know he was a brilliant genius and that they just don't make them like him anymore. Everything said in those paragraphs, we already know. The reason to write a biography is to know the subject better. If the subject wasn't great, they wouldn't have a biography in the first place, right? I believe that those comments of praise rather belong in conversation or in academic writing analysing his written work, not necessarily in his life story.
I'm not sure that it was a good idea to include Ian's father's writing at the end of the book. If anything, it should have been included at the start, to set the mood. To see that Ian's talents as a writer were inherited from his father, who shared his same interest for war history. At the end of the book, after all the suffering and heaviness it doesn't feel very fitting to read a war story that is not necessarily connected to Ian's own struggle. But that's just a personal preference.
Overall, it's a good biography, full of empathy and understanding, even if it's far from being perfect. As I said before, I enjoyed particularly the beginning and the end and definitely managed to see Ian from different new perspectives that humanise him and bring him closer and carry him further from the legend, which is the really important thing.
I keep reading about Ian Curtis. I will keep reading about him. He's fascinating and in many ways I believe that through his story and by understanding him we get to understand the key to human life and human sorrow. I catch myself often staring at his beautiful, harsh black and white photographs, sometimes keeping them open in random tabs in my browser, as old ladies keep pictures of their favourite saints as book markers. He means a lot to me.
It was great how this biography had information about his early years (provided by his mother and sister) and the last year of his life (provided by Annik Honoré, the girl that deeply loved him and probably understood him better than anyone else did at the time). I loved finding out about his childhood, how his classmates called him "Hammy" because of his chubby cheeks (god he was such a cute child, wasn't he?) and how he loved football and playing with animals. On the other hand, reading his letters to Annik was both beautiful and heartbreaking. I got really emotional at times reading how he narrated, in his own words, his downward spiral. It was simply heartbreaking to see how these letters became less and less coherent. How, at first, he was just a normal boy talking about his dog and the music he played and by the end he kept asking how he could go on and expressing how terrified he was about his illness.
The middle wasn't very new. I've read many times about Joy Division and their songwriting process and I definitely enjoyed the analysis of Unknown Pleasures, the rock record of all time, but there was rarely any information that isn't in all the other books about the band. It's always funny to read about the heavy jokes they played on each other and how sometimes they were just disgusting dirty boys having fun. I care much more about Ian Curtis the human than I care about Ian Curtis the legend. Every small detail about who he really was is precious, and this book definitely provided plenty, which made it enjoyable. Moreover, I really enjoyed to read Lindsay Reade's thoughts about Ian and the days she spent with him. I thought with time she really managed to understand him through reflection and she deeply cared about him.
However, it's far from being the perfect Ian Curtis biography. That one, I've yet to read. I don't think anyone has written such a thing. I wish this one were more objective and had gone a bit deeper into his marital problems and the toxicity of his relationship with Debbie, especially while they were teenagers and at the start of their marriage. This book leaves Debbie almost entirely out of the story, and I don't think that's fair because she's the one that spent the longest time with him and the one that was witness to his illness, mood swings and erratic behaviour. This is why her account of the events should have been at least mentioned here. One almost gets the impression, just by reading this book, that theirs was a perfect marriage. And it wasn't, by any means.
It does go deep into the reasons why their marriage crumbled and one can tell the writers have a lot of empathy for Ian and they understand why he acted the way he did, which is most necessary in any work about him. This book definitely has the empathy that the others don't and one gets to read what Ian experienced in his own words. The guilt, the confusion, the fear. It is also much more empathic than the film Control, that, as much as it is beautifully made and doesn't glorify its subject as most biopics do, it also completely lacks understanding for what Ian was going through.
It was good as well that the authors included the feelings those who met Ian had after his untimely death. It is important to remember that it was, most of all, a tragedy of which nobody saw the signs (because they didn't have the knowledge needed - and this is why mental health awareness is crucial) and that left everyone he knew deeply affected for the rest of their lives.
If this book is so understanding and reveals information never seen before about its subject, then what bothers me about it?
First of all, the way the authors treated Genesis P-Orridge and the absolute lack of respect they had towards their gender. I can't believe I had to read the phrase "He is now a woman!" with my own two eyes. It just takes a couple Google searches to know that Genesis transitioned a very long time ago, long before this book was written. Even if they didn't know at the time the book was written, it has been reissued several times, so they should have corrected this by now.
That was the main thing that irked me about the book (and it happens throughout the second half of the book).
Apart from that, I wasn't a big fan of how it was written. Some parts of the story weren't well-connected and at times, probably because the book was written by two different people. As well, sometimes there were unnecessary paragraphs praising the genius of Ian Curtis. If we are reading this book, we already know he was a brilliant genius and that they just don't make them like him anymore. Everything said in those paragraphs, we already know. The reason to write a biography is to know the subject better. If the subject wasn't great, they wouldn't have a biography in the first place, right? I believe that those comments of praise rather belong in conversation or in academic writing analysing his written work, not necessarily in his life story.
I'm not sure that it was a good idea to include Ian's father's writing at the end of the book. If anything, it should have been included at the start, to set the mood. To see that Ian's talents as a writer were inherited from his father, who shared his same interest for war history. At the end of the book, after all the suffering and heaviness it doesn't feel very fitting to read a war story that is not necessarily connected to Ian's own struggle. But that's just a personal preference.
Overall, it's a good biography, full of empathy and understanding, even if it's far from being perfect. As I said before, I enjoyed particularly the beginning and the end and definitely managed to see Ian from different new perspectives that humanise him and bring him closer and carry him further from the legend, which is the really important thing.
January 12, 2009
Much more information on the band and "the other woman", but way longer than it needs to be and written like it's spoken. I wanted to take a red pen to it many times and tighten it up. If read along with Control, one probably gets a pretty complete picture of Ian Curtis. I certainly don't feel like I need to know anything more about the man. While interesting, I doubt either book will appeal to non-fans. If I weren't interested in the subject, I probably would have put it down halfway through.
May 24, 2018
An interesting read about the life of Ian Curtis seen from the perspective of family, friends and band members. Naturally it comes from a different angle than that of the Deborah Curtis biog. As another reviewer points out, the truth will be somewhere in the middle. With my personal experience of depression it is very obvious that Ian Curtis suffered big time but only a couple of people really seem to notice. Depression was never really discussed back then the way it is now. Definitely worth reading, as is Touching From a Distance.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
December 3, 2021
I freaking love Joy Division. They're easily my second-favorite band after the inimitable Beatles, and I don't even think the Beatles should be considered as anything less than God status so such petty concerns as "favorite band" don't qualify to them. Thus, Joy Division would then be my favorite band. And I've read several books about them in the past. My first was Deborah Curtis' memoir "Touching From a Distance," which detailed the life she led with Ian Curtis, her husband and the lead singer of Joy Division. That book is a must-read for JD fans, and it's at times very harsh and brutal in its depiction of Ian (who did cheat on Debbie while she was raising their newborn daughter and leave her to fend for herself when he took his own life). But this book, by Mick Middles and Lindsay Reade, is a more balanced and objective tome by comparison. That doesn't make it a better book than Debbie's by any stretch. But it does offer an alternative.
"Torn Apart" is, however, at times clumsily written, with some repetition and instances where typos or chronological errors that could've been caught by a sure-eyed editor were allowed to pass unnoticed. But my concerns about those faded as I got more into the book, which follows Curtis from his birth and childhood all the way to his untimely demise on the eve of Joy Division's first American tour. Middles, a veteran Manchester rock journalist, has previously written a book about Factory Records, so he's got an inside scoop on the actual story of the band's music and how it evolved (something that is missing from Debbie's book because, as she contends, Ian shut her out from his music world almost from the beginning). Reade, the first wife of Factory boss Tony Wilson, is perhaps even more of an insider, and the two pen a thorough accounting of Ian's formative years, early marriage, and incipient steps towards starting his own band. In this book, we get the formation of Joy Division (as Warsaw, initially), and their growing reputation as a band on the rise.
Early on, I wasn't sure that such devotion to Ian's early life was warranted; plenty of biographies of famous people reduce childhood memories and events to a chapter or two for the better, because the narrative drive sometimes doesn't need exhaustive details like school records or dental appointments and the like. But the book became more interesting (and thus merited a fourth star) when detailing the emerging Manchester punk scene and how Joy Division found their own unique, profound sound. There are better books about Joy Division, honestly (Jon Savage's oral history is the best, though don't sleep on bandmate memoirs from the likes of Peter Hook and Stephen Morris), but this one was entertaining because it presented Curtis as much more than just the portrait that Debbie serves up in her book.
As I stated earlier, Debbie's book was probably the first one I ever read solely about Joy Division, and she painted a portrait of Ian that wasn't always complimentary. I've rarely ever thought to ask if she might have had an ax to grind or any reason to "soil" Ian's reputation, and I am not going to start now. "Touching From a Distance" is the story of a woman whose husband cheated on her and took himself away at the moment when most couples' lives are really just beginning to carry on more weight, with the birth of a child who would depend on the presence of both parents to be there (which is not always the case or even a requirement, as this son of a single mother can attest, but it's tragic when anyone kills themselves, much less a parent to a newborn child). In my younger years, I idolized Ian for the very notion that his was an artistic suicide, a self-killing born of a deeper purpose to make his art matter. I don't believe that anymore, and haven't for a long time, and one of the many saving graces of this book is that it doesn't, either. Ian Curtis was a human being whose life got away from him in some ways due to events he could control, but just as often from events that he couldn't. His debilitating epileptic seizures, long a part of his live performance, were worsened by the life of a rock star (staying up late, partying), and the emotional affair he had with Annik Honore helped to cause his marriage to break up. Ian Curtis didn't die for anyone's sins, as neither did Kurt Cobain, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, or any other high-profile celebrity suicide.
"Torn Apart" is well worth seeking out if you're a fan of Joy Division, because while the prose is a bit chunky and wonky at times, the story it tells is important. Plus, the photo selection is generous (for a band with a short life due to the death of Curtis just as they were on the cusp of stardom, Joy Division got a lot of photos taken of themselves). I would say to read Debbie's book first, because it is perhaps one of the most honest memoirs of any rock-star spouse. But Ian's family (particularly his mother and sister) are on hand with this book to help round out the portrait of Ian, to fill it out more than just what Debbie saw. I believe that both sides of this "divide" saw Ian as truthfully as they could, and that their versions of who he was (as well as Annik's version of Ian and their relationship) can be true at the same time. "Torn Apart" is a good look at a tragic figure in rock history, whose early demise ensured a degree of legend but left a whole lot of suffering in his wake.
"Torn Apart" is, however, at times clumsily written, with some repetition and instances where typos or chronological errors that could've been caught by a sure-eyed editor were allowed to pass unnoticed. But my concerns about those faded as I got more into the book, which follows Curtis from his birth and childhood all the way to his untimely demise on the eve of Joy Division's first American tour. Middles, a veteran Manchester rock journalist, has previously written a book about Factory Records, so he's got an inside scoop on the actual story of the band's music and how it evolved (something that is missing from Debbie's book because, as she contends, Ian shut her out from his music world almost from the beginning). Reade, the first wife of Factory boss Tony Wilson, is perhaps even more of an insider, and the two pen a thorough accounting of Ian's formative years, early marriage, and incipient steps towards starting his own band. In this book, we get the formation of Joy Division (as Warsaw, initially), and their growing reputation as a band on the rise.
Early on, I wasn't sure that such devotion to Ian's early life was warranted; plenty of biographies of famous people reduce childhood memories and events to a chapter or two for the better, because the narrative drive sometimes doesn't need exhaustive details like school records or dental appointments and the like. But the book became more interesting (and thus merited a fourth star) when detailing the emerging Manchester punk scene and how Joy Division found their own unique, profound sound. There are better books about Joy Division, honestly (Jon Savage's oral history is the best, though don't sleep on bandmate memoirs from the likes of Peter Hook and Stephen Morris), but this one was entertaining because it presented Curtis as much more than just the portrait that Debbie serves up in her book.
As I stated earlier, Debbie's book was probably the first one I ever read solely about Joy Division, and she painted a portrait of Ian that wasn't always complimentary. I've rarely ever thought to ask if she might have had an ax to grind or any reason to "soil" Ian's reputation, and I am not going to start now. "Touching From a Distance" is the story of a woman whose husband cheated on her and took himself away at the moment when most couples' lives are really just beginning to carry on more weight, with the birth of a child who would depend on the presence of both parents to be there (which is not always the case or even a requirement, as this son of a single mother can attest, but it's tragic when anyone kills themselves, much less a parent to a newborn child). In my younger years, I idolized Ian for the very notion that his was an artistic suicide, a self-killing born of a deeper purpose to make his art matter. I don't believe that anymore, and haven't for a long time, and one of the many saving graces of this book is that it doesn't, either. Ian Curtis was a human being whose life got away from him in some ways due to events he could control, but just as often from events that he couldn't. His debilitating epileptic seizures, long a part of his live performance, were worsened by the life of a rock star (staying up late, partying), and the emotional affair he had with Annik Honore helped to cause his marriage to break up. Ian Curtis didn't die for anyone's sins, as neither did Kurt Cobain, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, or any other high-profile celebrity suicide.
"Torn Apart" is well worth seeking out if you're a fan of Joy Division, because while the prose is a bit chunky and wonky at times, the story it tells is important. Plus, the photo selection is generous (for a band with a short life due to the death of Curtis just as they were on the cusp of stardom, Joy Division got a lot of photos taken of themselves). I would say to read Debbie's book first, because it is perhaps one of the most honest memoirs of any rock-star spouse. But Ian's family (particularly his mother and sister) are on hand with this book to help round out the portrait of Ian, to fill it out more than just what Debbie saw. I believe that both sides of this "divide" saw Ian as truthfully as they could, and that their versions of who he was (as well as Annik's version of Ian and their relationship) can be true at the same time. "Torn Apart" is a good look at a tragic figure in rock history, whose early demise ensured a degree of legend but left a whole lot of suffering in his wake.
September 29, 2017
As someone who has read a lot of books around Joy Division and Factory, there was nothing really new in this book apart from the interview with Annik and notes (annoyingly written in capitals). I still much prefer Touching from a Distance and am just about to start Peter Hook' s Unknown Pleasures. For a fictional account, I highly recommend 24 Hour Pay People.
Read
February 1, 2015it was OK, great for joy division fans, and does make you realise that mental illness can be completely hidden, even by close friends until it is too late. I didn't hear about joy division until Ian Cutis died. The book does go into a lot of detail about the Manchester music scene of the time so will resonate with any one of the right age!
December 12, 2011
very good companion to "Touching From a Distance" - gives a rounded view of the life of Ian Curtis.
June 20, 2013
the best book i've read on ian curtis and joy division.
March 12, 2013
the best bio on ian curtis/joy division i've read so far
January 12, 2015
Very thorough. Sympathetic to Annik (rightly so IMO) and very good to hear her side of the story. Included are many of Ian's letters to her.
January 19, 2017
A poignant account especially the letters between Ian and Annik. Three and a half stars.
April 6, 2017
Very well written ! Has so much information and is a must read for any JD fan !
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews