BOOK REVIEW: Billie Eilish by Billie Eilish

Stephanie O'Connell | 24 July 2021 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Billie Eilish by Billie Eilish

Wren & Rook
May 2021
Hardcover $45.00
Reviewed by Steph O’Connell

Non-Fiction / Photography / Celebrities / Music & Entertainment

25% Rocking

Legendary recording artist Billie Eilish shares an intimate inside look at her life and career—both on and off the stage—in this stunning, photo-filled book.

Billie Eilish is a 21st century global pop-phenomenon. Uncompromising and unapologetic, between her record-breaking, award-winning music and artistry, it’s no surprise that she has become one of the biggest and most loved artists of her generation.

Now in her first book — a stunning visual narrative journey through her life — Billie is ready to share more with her devoted audience for the first time, including hundreds of never-before-seen photos. This gorgeous book will capture the essence of Billie inside and out, offering readers personal glimpses into her childhood, her life on tour, and more. It will be a must-have for every fan.

Published simultaneously with the book, Hachette will release a standalone audiobook of exclusive, unique content in which Billie reflects on her life. Including never-before-told stories and recollections from her personal life and career, from the early years to her breakout success and including memories shared by her parents, this is an audiobook like no other – providing a truly intimate window into her journey, in Billie’s own words.

As someone who doesn’t know much about Billie, this was a bit of an odd experience.

For die-hard fans desperate to feel like they’re part of the inner-circle, this will probably be a valuable addition to their collection, and from what I’ve heard, the “standalone” audiobook gives some insight into more stories behind some photos. But when the majority of your die-hard audience are teenagers on a limited budget, and you come out with two books at the same time – designed to compliment each other, but neither presenting an entire “picture” – one can’t help but wonder how much of this decision was made on a cash-grab basis, rather than in genuinely wanting to help fans feel closer to their hero.

The snippets of information in this book are few and far between, with the reader sometimes flicking tens of pages with no insight before they get two words “Same shit” and nothing more for many pages thereafter. Billie does make allusions in the book as to her inability to take on constructive criticism, and it seems the final product here was missing an editor’s input, maybe because she seemingly doesn’t like being told what to do.

As someone who doesn’t know much about her, reading this photography book without the accompanying audiobook felt weird, maybe even a little voyeuristic. It felt more like I’d broken into Billie’s house and stolen one of her photo albums, which I then snuggled up with and flicked from cover to cover with VERY little context for what was actually going on, instead of having a conversation with Billie and gaining insight from her, as a book like this would usually offer.

But maybe that’s the point? Maybe Billie being by all accounts someone who “goes against the grain” releasing a book that makes us feel like creepy stalkers is her way of doing a photo book in a way that defies expectations.

I came away from reading this book, as someone who wasn’t familiar with her, thinking she seems like a bit of a diva, and is trying to share her “wisdom” after living a pretty charmed life, from the now ripe old age of 19…