[Larry F]

As a favor to my TDPRI buds, here is what you will learn about Bob Dylan in this new book by Suze Rotolo, his former girlfriend:

1. He chose his rumpled clothes very carefully.

2. He wrote like he spoke, dropping unpronounced letters, as in freewheelin'.

The rest of the book is about her. Growing up. Going to school. Her father. Her mother. Her grandfather. Her sister. Her step-father. Being a red-diaper baby. Going to camp. Going to Italy. Going to coffeehouses. Going to parties. Going to museums. Going to films (Bob did not like Last Year at Marienbad, and had a very conventioal taste in film). Buying clothes. Hanging out, a lot. But page after page goes by about her personal, everyday experiences without a mention of Bob. The problem is that she doesn't seem to have made a name for herself with her work or experiences, so it is hard to be interested in her day-by-day, year-by-year storytelling. I know the book is not supposed to be about Bob per se, but I read it hoping to find out something about this mysterious guy who just clicked with our culture and, in a very real way, helped define it, as much as he hated being thought of that way.

Wait, one more thing. The title of a song she found in her papers. No words or music, just the title, and a great one: "Go Away You Bomb."

Hope this saves some of you $22.95.