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Book reviews |
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| JUICING UP THE BIOSPHERE
Bibliographic details: O.J. Simpson: American hero, American tragedy, by Marc Cerasin; Pinnacle ISBN details unknown Nicole Brown Simpson:The private diary of a life interrupted, by Faye D. Resnick and Mike Walker; Signet |
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Review by Giles Hugo IN the genre of celebiography nothing succeeds quite like a tacky mixture of sex, drugs, fame, crime and violence. In the case of O.J. Simpson and his late wife, Nicole Brown, the ink was not even dry on the charge sheet before all of hackdom was hunkered down at their word processors cutting and pasting on-line news files to create instant books. The worst of these to come my way probably also holds some kind of production speed record - 'O.J. Simpson: American Hero American Tragedy', by Marc Cerasini, which is a truly shoddy piece of sanctimonious opportunism. Nicole Brown died on June 13, 1994, and Cerasini's book was in print by the end of that month. Ten out of ten for expeditious application but minus three for biographical integrity. Frinstance, discussing the motive for Simpson's live-on-TV low-speed chase in a white Ford Bronco with half the LA cops in pursuit, Cerasini opines: 'Was O.J. Simpson, like Shakespeare's Othello, going to his ex-wife's home, or her grave, to commit suicide?' Well, dig those classy classic lit allusions, man. But the next para puts it into ironic context: 'Or was he an innocent man driven to the edge of madness by hounding police and the reporters who gathered like hyenas to feed on the carrion of his fallen life, his fallen reputation?' Ask not for whom the carrion bays... say no more. For like-minded ghouls, there is also the full transcript of Brown's taped phone conversation with the LAPD 911 emergency line, reporting violent and abusive behaviour by Simpson. Cerasini's conclusion is indicative of the general tone of this tawdry tomelet: 'No matter the outcome of O.J. Simpson's trial, the events that have transpired during one week in the spring of 1994 present a sad and shocking story that cuts to the heart of our humanity, and its many paradoxical and unknowable facets.' Gosh, heavy! No kidding? Nuff said. However, to give a 'balanced' picture there is also 'Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted', by Faye D. Resnick (with Mike Walker). Although not as fast off the mark, socialite (and political activist and self-confessed former abuser of coke and Valium) Resnick's claim to authority in the matter of this celeb homicide is that she is 'Nicole's best friend and sometimes roommate'. Her pen-mate in this endeavor, Mike Walker, is a columnist for 'National Enquirer' and 'a media expert on the O.J. Simpson murder trial'. A charming combination. Forget the supposed entitlement of an accused to a presumption of innocence until proved guilty, this is tabloid justice, and Resnick is quite up-front in stating her belief that 'O.J. dunnit'. Her supporting evidence includes anecdotes that show him to be violent, threatening, a black man who shuns his own race, and a bad divorcee father to his children. In her foreword Resnick writes: 'To the professional thieves-for-hire who stole personal journals and photographs from my home in the wake of the O.J. murders, I say...' Note the presumptive 'O.J. murders', not the 'Nicole Brown/Ronald Goldman murders'. Later she adds: 'I know that powerful allies of O.J. Simpson will do everything in their power to discredit me. But they will fail. Because the ultimate and central fact is not me or what they say about me; what matters is the truth.' Even more definitively she adds later: 'The circle of friends that O.J., Nicole, and I had moved in was now seemingly divided into two camps - those who insisted O.J. was innocent and those who wanted to see him punished for murder. I was, and am, in the latter group. As Nicole's best friend and O.J.'s confidante, I know many devastating secrets. That is why I felt certain I was in danger.' According to Resnick, those 'devastating secrets' include the fact that 'when she (Nicole) and O.J. were together, they had sex up to five times a day'; that Brown had made up to 30 calls to the 911 line when O.J. was threatening or harassing her; that he stalked her continually to spy on her; and some revealing ironies on Nicole's breast implants: 'Today, breast implants, particularly in Beverly Hills, are almost as common as root canals - and a lot less painful. Almost every woman I know has had breast implants... Nicole loved her breasts, and wondered how she had got along without them.' Indeed, one wonders. There is also an account of a three-way phone conversation at a time when an on-off reconciliation was pending. Sample: 'My other phone line rang. I put Nicole on hold. It was O.J. yelling and cursing. "Fay, that fucking bitch, she told me she never wants to be with me again..." "O.J., listen...' He cut me off. "If she's really serious about this, and I find out she's with any other man before August, I'll kill her!" ' Resnick even muses about the possibilities of having a lesbian relationship with Nicole, and gives a graphic account of an 'almost' encounter with lots of kissing but no culmination. However, aside from this gratuitous titillation and her determination to prejudge the guilt or otherwise of the defendant, Resnick's one real contribution to fighting domestic violence comes in her postscript, a ten-point list of hints for all women faced with spousal abuse and the phone numbers of Domestic Violence Crisis Centres around Australia, thoughtfully localised by the Oz publishers in my review copy. One hopes that in spite of these opportunistic forays into un-asked-for jury duty, the trial is fair and justice is done. It would be ironic if O.J. were guilty, was found guilty, and then, on appeal, got off because media coverage - including books, movies and press interviews - was judged to have made a fair trial impossible. * At the time of writing, Simpson's book own book, 'I Want to Tell You', has been topping the US best-seller lists. And the trial continues... by Giles Hugo
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