Transformer: A Story of Glitter, Glam Rock, and Loving Lou Reed by Simon Doonan far exceeded my expectations: as a memoir, as a bit of music history, as a piece of LGBTQ+ history, and as just plain enjoyment.

I have recently read a couple of books on Reed and came to this thinking it was going to be narrowly focused on Transformer (the album). The great thing Doonan does is to focus on it but use a wide lens. We get some memoir to help establish how many fans came to the album and what they had faced prior to this moment. We get Velvet Underground, Warhol, and that whole scene. We get Bowie, Bolan, and the making of the album, which includes the environment at the time. And so on. Without realizing it, we have a better understanding and appreciation for this period of Reed's career, glam rock in general, and the ways it empowered many LGBTQ+ young people who had felt at best marginalized and more often actually threatened.

We get all of that in a conversational style that will have you chuckle at points, shed a tear at times, and keep you engrossed throughout. I remember the album very well, I bought it shortly after its release, not one of the first to get it but one of the first in my junior high school. My music tastes have always been all over the place and while I didn't quite fit into the same situation as Doonan I was still one of those who often stood outside the crowd. Sometimes by choice, sometimes not. If you're of a similar age, this book will likely be a bit nostalgic for you.

I also found myself going online and looking up images from the past. I tend to make almost all of the books I read a multimedia project. In addition to the usual searches (Bowie, Reed, Sedgwick, Bolan, etc) I also was intrigued by a comment early in the book, about Brigitte Bardot's lips begetting Mick Jagger's lips. So there I was looking at pictures of Bardot and trying to make the connection. For what it is worth, I think I see what they mean but it doesn't seem quite as obvious to me. But the argument within which that comment lives makes a lot of sense (you'll need to read the book).

Highly recommended for any reader who enjoys any of the things I mention in the first paragraph. And those who just love nostalgic books that are just plain fun.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )