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DiDonovan
, October 04, 2015
(view all comments by DiDonovan)
Big Girls Do Cry is recommended for any pop music history collection and for fans of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and presents the story of the Jersey Boys from the perspective of author April Kirkwood, one of their biggest fans.
Unlike most fans, Kirkwood cultivated a childhood friendship which evolved into a scandalous teenage romance, then became a stormy decades-long affair. Unlike most books about musical personalities written by fans, Kirkwood's intimate and long-lasting relationship, which began when she met Valli at the age of eight and moved into a sexual relationship when she was seventeen, reflects a detailed, in-depth love affair with Frankie Valli that few memoirs could have duplicated.
All this is recounted in a sassy, honest story of how she pursued the man of her dreams and handled the romantic 'substitutes' for Valli throughout her life.
Kirkwood followed her heart, she followed her dreams, and eventually she came to realize that this path was resulting in a one-sided arrangement with a famous personality who was already married, much older, and could offer her little in return.
Any who would learn about not just Valli but the highs and lows of romantic obsession will find Big Girls Do Cry a powerful story that is as much about the psychology of “imprinting” we all experience as it is about Valli - and that makes it much more than just another story of a star; but an examination of what it means to be 'star-struck' and to experience the kind of love that changes lives.
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