Make Trouble by John Waters

 

(miniature hb; 2017: humor/inspiration/nonfiction. Illustrated by Eric Hanson.)

 

From the inside flap

“When John Waters delivered his gleefully subversive advice to the graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, the speech went viral, in part because it was so brilliantly on point about making a living as a creative person. Now we can all enjoy his sly wisdom in a manifesto that reminds us, no matter what field we choose, to embrace chaos, be nosy, and outrage our critics.

“Anyone embarking on a creative path, he tells us, would do well to realize that pragmatism and discipline are as important as talent and that rejection is nothing to fear. Waters advises young people to eavesdrop, listen to their enemies, and horrify us with new ideas. In other words, MAKE TROUBLE!”

 

Review

Trouble is everything you’d hope for from the iconic “Prince of Puke” (one of the many titles the media has bestowed upon him, and of which he’s proud)—a life- and media-pragmatic outlook, flavored with his clever, subversive and sometimes raunchy/icky wit, as well as a strong sense of acceptance (of himself and others) and warmth, all in equal measure. This is a great book, one most (not everyone is open-minded) creative types should read, and one that transcends its art-focus and functions as life-advice work (e.g., “Remember, a ‘no’ is free.”) as well.

Liarmouth. . . A Feel-Bad Romance by John Waters

 

(hb; 2022)

From the inside flap

“Marsha Sprinkle: Suitcase thief. Scammer. Master of disguise. Dogs and children hate her. Her own family wants her dead. She’s smart, desperate, she’s disturbed, and she’s on the run with a big chip on her shoulder. They call her Liarmouth—until one insane man makes her tell the truth.”

 

 

Review

Waters’s first novel reads like his best, darkly hilarious, shocking, odd, and deviant-sex movies. Marsha Sprinkle is iconoclastic to the bone, beloathed by her family and all those who know her. After a normal airport suitcase-theft job goes awry for her and her sex-enthralled flunkie, Daryl, she flees from Dutch Village, Baltimore, to Provincetown, Maryland, with people—including her cultic, bounce-obsessed daughter (Poppy), her mother (Adora), Daryl (with his compromised sex) in mostly hateful pursuit. Fast-moving, at times loosely descriptive (but always in a true-to-effective form Waters way), Liarmouth builds to a howlingly funny and morally/physically icky climax that could’ve easily been one of his early films. Worth owning, this, if you’re a fan of Waters, or occasional-gross-out/scalpel-to-cultural-norms, criminal humor.

Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder by John Waters

(hb; 2019: nonfiction)

From the inside flap

“No one knows more about everything─especially rude, clever, and offensively compelling─than John Waters. The man in the pencil-thin mustache, auteur of the transgressive movie classics Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and A Dirty Shame, is one of the world’s great sophisticates, and in Mr. Know-It-All he serves it up raw: how to fail upward in Hollywood:; how to develop musical taste, from Nervous Norvus to Maria Callas: how to build a home so ugly and trendy that no one but you would dare live in it; more important, how to tell someone you love them without emotional risk; and, yes, how to cheat death itself. Through it all, Waters swears by one undeniable truth: ‘Whatever you might have heard, there is absolutely no downside to being famous. None at all.’

“Studded with cameos, from Divine and Mink Stole to Johnny Depp, Kathleen Turner, Patricia Hearst, and Tracy Ullman, and illustrated with unseen photos from the author’s personal collection, Mr. Know-It-All is Waters’ most hypnotically readable, upsetting, and revelatory book─another instant Waters classic.”

Review

Know-It-All is an amusing, smart-minded and sometimes laugh-out-loud read from the Pope of Filth, who dispenses advice, anecdotes and observations, gleaned from his years of experience. As one might expect, his advice is sound, his stories sometimes are a bit dirty, and humor laces many of observations. While it is not one of my favorite books by Waters─some of his wilder tangents lost me─it is worth reading, maybe owning for a few bucks.

Carsick, by John Waters

(hb; 2014: fiction/nonfiction)


From the inside flap:

"John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads 'I’m Not Psycho', he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash?

"Along the way, Waters fantasises about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road?"


Review:

Carsick is hilarious, horrifying, raunchy, pop culture savvy, smart and everything you would expect from a John Waters book.  If you're a fan of Waters, this is worth owning.  If you're not, check this out from the library or buy a used copy instead of purchasing it at its full price.