Reviews
Ridiculously entertaining . . . His tales of a near-Dickensian life in Sixties working-class London suggest how an inchoate rebel found his purpose in punk., Coarse, plain-speaking and mischievous, pitched somewhere between Dennis the Menace and Diogenes the Cynic., "Lydon is an unabashed grammatical scofflaw who can deploy an earthy colloquialism with the best of them. Anger Is an Energy is packed with this brand of vivid storytelling." -- San Francisco Gate "Establishes that there's much more to the person than the public persona." -- Paste "A hilarious and at times touching account." -- Rolling Stone "Vintage Johnny Rotten." -- Daily News "A dishy chronicle." -- Details "Lydon is at his best when writing about his family - his parents were working-class Irish immigrants - and . . . quite moving in his account of Vicious." -- Los Angeles Times "Features plenty of morbidly fascinating tidbits from one of England's least likely national treasures." -- RollingStone.com "One of the most important figures in punk history." -- Gothamist "A companion to Lydon's 1994 memoir, Rotten. His life is rich enough to warrant another . . . and he's a gifted enough writer to make it a fun read." -- Billboard "It is clear that, though fond of zingers and political put-downs, Lydon is also a serious and thoughtful artist, bookish and unafraid of hard work, and thus serving as a model citizen in a more ideal republic than ours . . . A lucid, literate pleasure." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Coarse, plain-speaking and mischievous, pitched somewhere between Dennis the Menace and Diogenes the Cynic." -- Financial Times "Ridiculously entertaining . . . His tales of a near-Dickensian life in Sixties working-class London suggest how an inchoate rebel found his purpose in punk." -- Telegraph "Fascinating . . . both elegant and blunt." -- The Guardian "Fills in the gaps that his previous autobiography, ROTTEN left wide open, notably his pre-Sex Pistols days, while also going over old ground with a fully-toothed rake . . . fascinating." -- Irish Times "John Joseph Lydon's new autobiography isn't just about his incarnation as Johnny Rotten, but his upbringing, youth and, later, Public Image Limited and further intrigues. His passion and his intellect remain an inspiration." -- NME "A ripe, breathless romp through an extraordinary life . . . But this is a serious book too, about how poverty and illness can create pain that can be turned into something positive, presenting a man keen to fill out the nihilistic cartoon that has persisted in pop culture." -- The Observer "An accurate reflection of the man it seeks to portray: unique, uncompromising, and . . . fascinating." -- Mail on Sunday "The book is most fascinating about his childhood. I was gripped." -- The Times (London) "Rollicking [and] rambunctious." -- Irish Examiner "Both thoughtful and irascible . . . Throughout, Lydon's skills as a storyteller are in evidence. [He] brings a humour to his recollections and is at pains not to take himself, or the music business, too seriously." -- Irish Independent "A great autobiography, if you enjoyed Rotten , then you'll enjoy this too . . . Lydon is always engaging, challenging and entertaining." -- The Register (UK), A companion to Lydon's 1994 memoir, Rotten. His life is rich enough to warrant another . . . and he's a gifted enough writer to make it a fun read., Both thoughtful and irascible . . . Throughout, Lydon's skills as a storyteller are in evidence. [He] brings a humour to his recollections and is at pains not to take himself, or the music business, too seriously., Lydon is an unabashed grammatical scofflaw who can deploy an earthy colloquialism with the best of them. Anger Is an Energy is packed with this brand of vivid storytelling., A great autobiography, if you enjoyed Rotten , then you'll enjoy this too . . . Lydon is always engaging, challenging and entertaining., Features plenty of morbidly fascinating tidbits from one of England's least likely national treasures., A ripe, breathless romp through an extraordinary life . . . But this is a serious book too, about how poverty and illness can create pain that can be turned into something positive, presenting a man keen to fill out the nihilistic cartoon that has persisted in pop culture., John Joseph Lydon's new autobiography isn't just about his incarnation as Johnny Rotten, but his upbringing, youth and, later, Public Image Limited and further intrigues. His passion and his intellect remain an inspiration., Lydon is at his best when writing about his family - his parents were working-class Irish immigrants - and . . . quite moving in his account of Vicious., Fills in the gaps that his previous autobiography, ROTTEN left wide open, notably his pre-Sex Pistols days, while also going over old ground with a fully-toothed rake . . . fascinating., It is clear that, though fond of zingers and political put-downs, Lydon is also a serious and thoughtful artist, bookish and unafraid of hard work, and thus serving as a model citizen in a more ideal republic than ours . . . A lucid, literate pleasure., An accurate reflection of the man it seeks to portray: unique, uncompromising, and . . . fascinating.
