Review: Me by Ricky Martin

I meant to get a couple of reviews written up earlier on Monday, but my sudden lack of schedule played with my ability to get anything written today!  It's not that I didn't get things done, since I was running around to appointments and various errands, but I just didn't settle down today to do anything online.  At least, not anything that was fun!

Before I get sidetracked, I wanted to post a quick review of Me, by Ricky Martin.

Review:  I don't think that anyone needs to explain what Me is about.  Both the title and cover clearly spell out that this is a look into the life of Ricky Martin, the man behind the artist.  Honestly, I've always had a bit of a crush on Ricky Martin, from his days in Menudo when I watched him dance and sing between Saturday morning cartoons, to crooning sultry serenades on Vuelve, or gyrating to "Livin' La Vida Loca."  Whatever he's done, I've been a fan.

In a stripped down sense, this autobiography is the essentials.  There isn't a single picture, very little outside information about anyone else, and mainly takes us through Martin's feelings and thoughts about different periods in his life.  The core of his exploration seems to center on his own self-identity, which returns over and over again to his acceptance of himself as a gay man.  I wouldn't say that he solely looks for areas of his life that should have guided him in his personal truth, but it was a definite theme, and rightfully so.  It is easy to see how Martin's upbringing in a Catholic, Latino culture that both demand strong ideals of masculinity and heterosexuality, shaped his own search to understand who he was at the core.  In the book he looks at what he thought at different times in his life and considers his response in each case.  For instance, Martin had a string of successful relationships with women, who he felt passionately in love with, only to be offset by equally satisfying relationships behind the scenes with several men that came into his life.  He doesn't express any confusion about these relationships, but explains what drew him to each of these loves and what he learned.

The book is pretty much an exploration of experiences and how they shaped Martin into who he is today, a man of an open heart and life of complete honesty.  My one disappointment was that there wasn't a single picture outside of the cover!  I don't care if I'm reading about a famous author or a superstar, I look forward to seeing the personal pictures that are included.  There's something about autobiographies that beg for a picture or two to help us think about the person at each age.  I was just sad that Martin chose not to include any pictures.  The stories and personal journey were interesting, but I'll admit that I was sad that he left out the pictures.

In short, I would say that this is less of an autobiography in the classical sense (linear and straight-forward), and more about Martin's thoughts about different times in his life.  This was an interesting life story, with lots of self-reflection that helps us to relate to Martin's life and to see ourselves in him. 

Yep, I still found I had a bit of a crush and am glad to see how happy he is today.

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based on a library copy of the book.