Book Review - Seven Deadly Sins

It's been quite some time since I've blogged.  Like, since MySpace ago.  But it was suggested to me by someone who cares that I should start blogging again.  I will start again by posting book reviews, and occasionally go back to my comedic pedantic ranting and other things.  Perhaps I should repost some of the MySpace stuff...

Anyway.  Ahem:

Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good

Author: Corey Taylor

Published in 2012

Philosophy / Memoir

Occasionally, a celebrity will release a book that is not a memoir or a list of exploits in chronological order.  The comedian Tim Allen did it - writing a book about advanced physics, quantum mechanics, and his understanding of things like String Theory and touching on metaphysical aspects of... everything - in his book I'm Not Really Here.  Tim Allen, in case you do not know, was a comedian known for jokes about men being dumb and rude and tool-oriented.  He was the star of the TV show Home Improvement and more recently the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story movies.   Among his catchphrases are "[it] needs more power!" and "Men are pigs," followed by grunting.  His book is NOTHING like his comedy.  

For those who do not know, Corey Taylor is the lead singer of the aggressive metal band Slipknot, the not-so-aggressive metal band Stone Sour, and several collaborations with many contemporary metal and non-metal bands and artists.  He is also known as "The Great Big Mouth" and in magazines, "The Artist Known As 'Corey Fucking Taylor'". His style is, in spite of the obvious anger, very emotional.  This book is not about any of that.  

Mr. Taylor's yearbook photo

Once, when I was first getting into anti-religion, I read a pamphlet concerning whether the Ten Commandments were still relevant.  This book is similar, positing that the Seven Deadly Sins are not only not deadly, but not even sins.  There are personal stories and anecdotes here, but they are always on subject.  This is not a celebrity memoir of "things I have done and you are all jealous of, nenner nenner boo boo" like most memoirs are.  This is not a Behind The Music-esque look back at the autobiographist's life in shame and regret.  

But as befitting of a stereotypical rock star, the language is vulgar and even the most insightful passages are fraught with juvenile metaphors.  Also, quite annoyingly, Taylor wants to assure you that he is the only person who has ever thought of any of this and only he is qualified to say and think this way.  Sometimes it reminds me of a teenager who wants so hard to be a bad-ass or a bitch that he or she must constantly remind you that they are a bad-ass or a bitch.  Everybody knows people like this.  My aunt Jean likes to tout that she is a crazy person and she does indeed have a documented diagnosed mental condition.  It is not, however a psychosis and therefore, she is not a "crazy person."  To be fair, Jean does say it as a joke - but a crazy person talks to park benches and manages to wear their shoes inside-out.  Jean does not do this.  Thus, her reminders of her CRAZYNESS seem overly silly and self-indulgent.

This box uses the F word approximately 6 less times than any similar length passage from the book

Taylor also has the bad habit of using polysyllabic words in an effort to appear more intelligent.  This isn't to say that what he is saying is not intelligent - it just seems like he is trying to hard to prove that he knows adjectives like, well, polysyllabic in addition to nouns like fuck and adverbs like fucking.  There are also very many instances of non-sequitur (always followed by interjection that you just read a non-sequitur), many instances of on-purpose in-your-face irrelevance, and many instances reminding you that Taylor knows that his probable audience are ignorant misfit teenagers who think they are the only ones who have ever thought against popular conventions.

In spite of all of that, this book is a very insightful posit about the relevance of sin in human life and interaction.  Most of the Seven Deadly Sins are quite common in human behavior and by their very inherent nature, not sinful.  While some of them can certainly lead to sinful and hurtful behavior, they are not themselves sinful or hurtful.  In each chapter, a sin is deconstructed and explained as normal, common, and most importantly non-victimizing.  

I highly recommend this book.  To name names, I recommend to Ruth (if you could get past the profanity), Jean (if you can get past the fact that Taylor's typical audience is ignorant) and Tracy (if I thought you could actually read or independently think).  

To paraphrase, Taylor is not selling salvation, but preaching moderation and suggesting, seriously, a more proper grouping of Seven Deadly Sins.

Potent Quotes:

"We are defined by our dignity to rise above debasement.  We are certainly better people for doing so.  They say, 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone.'  That is exactly my point.  Not only are we all guilty of just being ourselves, we were never guilty in the first place. The only problem comes when we become caricatures of these Deadly whims."

"These people are not sinners.  They are just shitty people."