The softer side of Marilyn Manson

By Ian McLaren

With one pale blue eye, Marilyn Manson gazes out hauntingly from the cover of his new autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. With a diagram of a human torso and artistic depiction of his "metamorphosis," his white face invites society to experience the man beneath the grim visage.

If you pass Manson off as just another controversial rock star, you won't be doing justice to this morbid, mischievous, and strikingly intelligent character, and everyone deserves a chance to understand the man behind the mask. Believe it or not, it's an impressive literary journey, an engrossing novel full of pathetic sexual fantasies, disgusting mock-torture, and stories that captivate partly due to shock value and partly due to literary merit.

And there are quite a few of these amusing stories. Among them are the tale of Manson's loss of virginity (a failure in his eyes because of its nature as a "pump and dump" event), and his introduction to Satanism (with his friend's brother, while smoking marijuana through a bong filled with Southern Comfort). As his life progresses, the book adopts a darker, more mature tone as he examine the contemporary Satanist movement. He chronicles his time spent with Anton LeVey, founder of the Church of Satan, where Manson became a reverend. Manson also goes into detail about his long and rocky relationship with Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails's producer and creative force.

One excellent feature of the book is Manson's ability to recount events with such meticulous attention to detail that it's hard to discern whether he is feeding us a load of bull or actually telling the truth. From the time he stumbled upon a Vaseline-encrusted dildo in his grandfather's basement to the time he urinated on a deaf fan, his stories don't just inspire gasping; they present haunting images that linger in your head long after you turn the page.

As an autobiography, Hell gives Manson a chance to present himself as he wants to be seen. And, interestingly enough, he shows himself as a human being and not the ethereal Anti-Christ he so often appears to be. On stage and in the media, he's haunting and dangerous, known to tear apart Bibles and hold Nuremburg-esque mock ceremonies. But, according to the book, Manson does all this in order to entrance his audience, poking fun at the malleability of a structured society.

Unfortunately, the effect Manson has had on society is precisely the opposite of what he intended--he has influenced people without causing them to think. People fear him because they do not understand him, he says, and if he can make them think just a little bit, then he has accomplished his goal. Sure, Manson can be schlocky. But he uses his book to push his philosophy to a generation deficient in rationality and exercisable personal power.

The most successful aspect of this book is its pure readability. It is entertainment in its rawest form--sometimes cheap and tawdry, but always compelling and enjoyable. The Long Road to Hell and Back isn't for the easily offended, culturally prejudiced, or closed minded. Marilyn Manson is our generation's Jim Morrison: shocking, misunderstood, and stunningly articulate. Do not stop at the cover glaring back at you-- open the book and enter the mind of a true anti-hero.

Back to A&E...