Reviewer Maria Savva : Maria is a lawyer and writer from the UK. She has published four novels and three collections of short stories and she is currently editing her fifth novel. She is also a resident author/moderator for BestsellerBound.com. You can find out more about Maria by following on her WEBSITE.
Author:
Bill See
ISBN: 978-0-557-75881-4
Publisher: Lulu
Click Here To Purchase 33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream.
‘It’s
not about the having and the getting, it’s about the being and
becoming.’
The story of a 33 day tour by the band Divine
Weeks. Bill See, the author, was the lead singer of the L.A.
band who enjoyed some notoriety in the ‘80s.
In this memoir, See
has collected together journal entries and memories to create much
more than just a tour diary. He documents the tour with a great
descriptive narrative that really captures the moment and brings his
memories to life. He also talks about his own dysfunctional
home life, which in some ways spurred him on to chase his dream.
See
is a talented writer, who is able to impart wisdom and knowledge
through his prose.
I enjoyed reading about the band’s
progression from an unknown group who played only weekday gigs in
their home town, to a successful band touring nationwide. But
this is not just a story about the band’s journey, it’s also
about the individual band members’ personal journeys along the
way. See’s introspective and thought-provoking prose make the
book a compulsive and insightful read.
We follow the
band on their first real tour, across the US and Canada in 1987,
where they play small venues, often to a handful of people. But
the band’s passion is such that they are determined to do anything
to reach their dream of one day becoming real rock stars. They
survive with hardly any money and sleep in a van and cheap hotels, or
even on friends’ floors. There is a lot of humour sprinkled
throughout the book which makes it an enjoyable read. I liked
the fact that the author has included photographs of memorable parts
of the tour and his life in the book. It gives an extra
dimension to the story.
As well as being an enthralling
tour diary, this book deals with such subjects as family life,
alcoholism, racism, dysfunctional families, relationships,
friendship, loyalty, and the power of dreams.
Divine Weeks’s
story is an inspirational one that shows what someone can achieve if
they follow their dream. The author captures the essence of the
book best, when he says: ‘This book is for everyone who’s stood
at their crossroads with a dream screaming inside wondering whether
to choose the road that goes off the map or fold up their tent and
head back home.’
Highly recommended.