A Gateway Book

"Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of The 20th Century" (1989) is destined to occupy a unique place in my reading memory. It is provocative, infuriating, and original. I don't recall ever reading anything quite like it.

What did you make of the Sex Pistols during their exceedingly brief time in the limelight? I don't know a single person who listened to their music or bought the few recordings they made. Do you? Yet the secret history author Greil Marcus constructs in "Lipstick Traces" places this seminal British punk band at its core. Nearly every time Marcus connected a dot from the ruins of the Sex Pistols short and violent career to other obscure 20th century artists and provocateurs, my head spun. But my curiosity about the journey I was taking with this smart author kept me reading, even when I was way out of my depth.

Though I was still scratching my head weeks after finishing "Lipstick Traces" - and continuing to marvel at the author's staggering erudition - the central premise of the book didn't fully land until I began writing an entry in my book journal few days ago. Some art is not meant to endure; it's meant to disrupt. This book is a gateway: it will compel me to pay more attention to that kind of art in the future.