BOYS IN THE TREES A Memoir

Carly Simon exuberantly narrates her memoir, which reads like a history of rock and roll from the 1970s onward. Simon's warm and personal style sounds as if she's telling her story directly to each listener. She confidingly begins with her privileged but troubled childhood--recounting her parents' unhappy marriage, her molestation, her stutter and shyness, and more. Music--her own and others'--adds a magical energy. Her understated anecdotes of encounters with the biggest names in music keep her from sounding boastful. Most moving and interesting is her depiction of her marriage to James Taylor, where the book ends. Her pain over their divorce is still apparent. An upbeat-sounding epilogue brings things to the present, but music lovers will want her to fill in the gaps of her fascinating life. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2015]