Catch a fire book
Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley
December 24, 2020
As someone who grew up listening to the music of Bob Marley, I put this one on my list as soon as I came across it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag for me...
Author Timothy White (January 25, 1952 – June 27, 2002) was an American rock music journalist and editor, according to his Wikipedia page.
Timothy White:
Catch a Fire opens with an intro by author Timothy White's widow; White died early (like Marley) at 50 of a heart attack.
White gives the reader a decent amount of historical context here; writing fairly extensively about the history of reggae and Rastafarianism.
The life of Ras Tafari/Haile Selassie is also covered by White. The life story of the Ethiopian Emporer is steeped in mysticism.
Haile Selassie:
The book unfolds in a mostly chronological manner, as author White provides a very detailed account of Marley's young life. Perhaps a bit too much detail, IMHO. I think the author could have trimmed 50 or so pages here for the sake of brevity and clarity.
Bob "Nesta" Marley on his wedding day, February 10, 1966:
Interestingly, the author writes that Marley had a premonition of his own untimely demise:
He writes of Marley's concert in Zimbabwe, exactly a year before his ultimate death:
Catch a Fire starts out with a great pace, and I enjoyed learning about the life of Bob Marley. Unfortunately, the writing loses its "flow" in the subsequent chapters; diving into the weeds for the remainder of the book...
I found my attention wandering numerous times while reading this one, and counting the pages until I could tie a knot in it. The book also doesn't cover Marley's musical career until around page 200. This took away from my overall enjoyment of the book.
White's writing style also tends to be overly dry and long-winded at times, making the books' >600 pages a somewhat arduous trek...
This really started to grate on me during the last ~100 or so pages. The author details many anti-climactic events that took place after Marley's death, including long transcriptions of court cases. This one could have done well with a more rigorous editing, IMHO.
The story of the life of Bob Marley is an interesting one, but the telling of it here was not up to the task, sadly.
Catch A Fire is not nearly as readable as it could have been...
2.5 stars.
Author Timothy White (January 25, 1952 – June 27, 2002) was an American rock music journalist and editor, according to his Wikipedia page.
Timothy White:
Catch a Fire opens with an intro by author Timothy White's widow; White died early (like Marley) at 50 of a heart attack.
White gives the reader a decent amount of historical context here; writing fairly extensively about the history of reggae and Rastafarianism.
The life of Ras Tafari/Haile Selassie is also covered by White. The life story of the Ethiopian Emporer is steeped in mysticism.
Haile Selassie:
The book unfolds in a mostly chronological manner, as author White provides a very detailed account of Marley's young life. Perhaps a bit too much detail, IMHO. I think the author could have trimmed 50 or so pages here for the sake of brevity and clarity.
Bob "Nesta" Marley on his wedding day, February 10, 1966:
Interestingly, the author writes that Marley had a premonition of his own untimely demise:
"They were sitting in a tree one day, and Bob started to talk about Christ. He said that Christ’s mission began at age thirty-three. “Me gwan die at t’irty-six,” he said quietly, “jus’ like Christ.” “Stop it, Bob!” said Dion, who had been his first buddy in Wilmington when he arrived from Kingston in 1966. “What are you talkin’ about? You got a good career, you makin’ good money. Why you want to die that young?”Catch a Fire talks about Marley's toe injury and collapse one day during a jog, which would ultimately lead to a grim cancer diagnosis for the young and now famous star.
“Next year 1978,” Bob continued, speaking somberly. “Me be t’irtyt’ree in February. From dat month, t’ings tek dere course from den.”
“Come on, Bob, knock it off,” said Ibis, and the moment passed. Both Dion and Ibis told Ciddy about it later. They were disturbed by this kind of talk, but they convinced themselves it was just a temporary fit of depression associated with the troublesome soccer injury..."
He writes of Marley's concert in Zimbabwe, exactly a year before his ultimate death:
"...And now, in Zimbabwe, all his illusions were ebbing away. His ulcerated, nailless right toe ached horribly. He had repeatedly told the press that the bandages he wore concealed a soccer injury, but the throbbing pain was a constant reminder of what doctors had been telling him over the past two years: have the toe amputated or make his peace with life; if he wouldn’t undergo radical treatment for this cancer, he would fly away home to his heavenly reward in Zion a lot sooner than he had planned.Bob "Nesta" Marley. Date unkown:
“Rasta no abide amputation,” he had spat back at them. “I and I [me and my brethren] don’t allow a mon ta be dismantled. Jah, de living God, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Ras Tafari, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, two hundred twenty-fifth ruler of the t’ree-t’ousand-year old Ethiopian empire, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Heir to the Throne of Solomon, He will heal me wit’ de meditations of me ganja chalice, me cutchie [clay hookah pipe], or He will tek me as a son inta His Kingdom. No scalpel shall crease me flesh! Dem cyan’t kill Jah, cyan’t kill Rasta. Rastamon live out.”
Catch a Fire starts out with a great pace, and I enjoyed learning about the life of Bob Marley. Unfortunately, the writing loses its "flow" in the subsequent chapters; diving into the weeds for the remainder of the book...
I found my attention wandering numerous times while reading this one, and counting the pages until I could tie a knot in it. The book also doesn't cover Marley's musical career until around page 200. This took away from my overall enjoyment of the book.
White's writing style also tends to be overly dry and long-winded at times, making the books' >600 pages a somewhat arduous trek...
This really started to grate on me during the last ~100 or so pages. The author details many anti-climactic events that took place after Marley's death, including long transcriptions of court cases. This one could have done well with a more rigorous editing, IMHO.
The story of the life of Bob Marley is an interesting one, but the telling of it here was not up to the task, sadly.
Catch A Fire is not nearly as readable as it could have been...
2.5 stars.