On the Many Deaths of Amanda Palmer

Starred review from June 28, 2010
Inspired by the imagined death of the real-life (and living) Amanda Palmer, the front woman for the self-described "Brechtian punk cabaret" band, The Dresden Dolls, Kriwaczek (An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin) puts his mischievous faux-scholasticism to work. Presented as an anthology of "Palmeresques," an artistic form of fan response to Palmer's mysterious death, each text offers its own darkly fanciful version of the songstress's demise. Also imagined are a jumble of issues concerning the shady dealings of the Amanda Palmer Trust (APT) selection committee, the possible influence of a murder suspect on their proceedings, and the intervention of the Boston police. A postmodern Russian nesting doll of realities, complete with poems, charts, and censored text, this book is successful on many levels: creepy and fun when accepted at face value; tantalizing when looked at as evidence in a murder mystery; insightful in its commentary on modern celebrity and culture—in all coy, engaging, and delightfully imagined. Illustrations.

June 1, 2010
This is something of a pop-music Festschrift of exDresden Doll and ongoing scenester Palmer grafted onto Kriwaczeks musings on art, celebrity, and the perceived downward trend of popular culture. The ostensible center of the book is a collection of writings and artwork by Palmers fans pertaining to Palmers imaginary death. Whether the writings were undertaken in the sincere belief that Palmer had expired is beside the point since Kriwaczeks writing is the apparent crux of the work. The individual pieces are uneven, and much of the content is a little on the grim side, as befits Palmers cabaret punk orientation. Ultimately, this treatment of a pop stars imagined demise and its accompanying introspective (if tongue-in-cheek) disquisition on the ultimate meaning of postmodern celebrity is heavy with schtick. As such its a fitting shelfmate to Kriwaczeks previous work, An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin (2006), which the New York Times labeled a brilliant hoax. Shelve it in music or shelve it in fiction, but expect Palmers oddly literary fans to come looking for it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)