“The Meaning of Mariah Carey” by Mariah Carey

I have mixed emotions after reading this book. I did enjoy it. Mariah Carey does what she promises at the beginning of her memoir: she tells her story as she has lived it. She shares, I believe, honestly, how different situations and different people in her life made her feel and what she was thinking when the events she describes happened. The narrative gets a little muddled up in places, and it isn’t clear if it was the author’s intention to leave the readers in the dark about some aspects or if it is the result of editorial interference.

“The Meaning of Mariah Carey” by Mariah Carey is a treat for all the singer’s fans. I can’t call myself such – I’ve never been a true, die-hard fan of any band or singer – but some of her songs are indeed among my all-time favourite ones. It was somewhat embarrassing to find out from this memoir that these are her least favourite pieces. I hadn’t thought about it before from such a perspective, but after reading this book, I realised that, since my early teenage years, I obviously have a strong preference towards ‘adult contemporary’ music. Which is the genre Mariah Carey was trying to move away from since the beginning of her career. It was always met with strong opposition from her managers – and while she was married to a music business executive, from her husband.

As I mentioned earlier in this review, the story seemed somewhat uneven, with some things left unsaid. While I respect the author’s possible unwillingness to share some specific moments of her life, I, as a reader, found it distracting. For example, Mariah Carey spares no words describing her childhood, with all the troubles her family had gone through – with the emphasis of what she personally had gone through as the result of these hardships. Which, again, is totally fine. It is her memoir after all. But due to that repeated emphasis, that, I presume, was meant to persuade readers about her point of view about her family members and their behaviour towards her, I felt I wasn’t seeing the whole picture.

The singer comes from a mixed-race family. While stressing the difficulties she herself had to undergo during her life because of her ancestry, the author doesn’t dwell much on what her parents had endured. She wasn’t close to any of her parents, and probably she never talked to them about it. It is understandable; yet, for me, it seemed crucial to understand her parents a little better to be able to sympathise with their children’s predicaments.

The most confusing moment of this book is a fast-forward from the author’s troubled childhood to living on her own in New York. During that very childhood, filled with traumatic events, she had gotten a chance to participate in a rather serious music/talent camp, where her mother, as far as I understood from the unclear context, had put quite an effort into placing her. I am not trying to be nasty here. The author claims that her mother never supported her dream of a career as a singer. Yet, even that single thing (and there were more) – going the extra mile so her daughter had an opportunity to be around like-minded people and display her talent – contradicts this statement.

In one chapter we read about a difficult childhood and then, in the next, the author, at the age of seventeen, lives in New York and already has a job as a back vocalist for some guys who aren’t new in the music business. How did Mariah Carey meet these people? Maybe, for some readers, it would seem irrelevant. But for me, it is a crucial moment. The small thing that changes one’s life forever. I would’ve certainly appreciated knowing more about that.

The author tells the story of her unhappy marriage to the man who made her a star. There is absolutely no doubt that Mariah Carey possesses a unique talent. Hers is one of the most powerful singing voices on the popular music scene. But, even though it’s sad to admit it, without that chance I mentioned in the previous paragraph, any magnificent talent can remain undiscovered, unappreciated, and unknown. It is enough to watch an episode of a popular talent discovery show. So many fabulous voices, so many apparent talents – and for most, participating in that show is the only moment of spotlight they get to experience in their lives.

Despite all the issues that I found confusing while reading, I am glad I have picked up and read this book. I love reading biographies and memoirs, for, even if their authors are biased toward the person whose life they document or stars themselves don’t share everything openly, these books offer an unprecedented insight into extraordinary lives – the ones lived in the way that millions dream about living, not really realising the other side of fame and fortune.