Touching From A Distance

Can't remember if this topic has ben covered before, and anyway if it has it would be interesting to see what some of the newer members think.

What did people think of the Deborah Curtis book ? Did it shatter your illusions of Ian Curtis, or did you view it as a bitter rant by someone who so clearly hurt still, some 14 years on ?

I must admit I was a bit surprised by some of the content, and I don't think she actually understood a lot of what happened, either then or in hindsight.

Whaddya reckon peeps ?

Poor old Johnny Yen....

I found in places that she went into a bit more detail than was necessary, but having said that I found it a compelling read, in fact I read it from cover to cover in one day.

Honestly, it seemed like she was still coming to terms with all the affairs and the suicide (which may have been her whole point in writing the book). It made me more aware that Ian was a human being, not some mythical figure who just fell from the sky. He had problems, and they drove him to kill himself, not some wish to be immortal like Debbie says. I think it comforts her to believe that, but he just couldn't choose between her and Annik, and his physical ailments were down the toilet, so the poor guy sensed that was the only way to resolve his problems. As a biography, it's probably one of the most honest I've ever read, but it lead me to a greater appreciation for Ian's lyrics. I've read it 7-8 times, I would recommend it to someone hung up on the whole "live fast and dies young" philosophy so they'd understand the human cost of such a venture.

i'm just curious about ian's daughter, what's her name, natalie? i wonder what she thinks about her father, and i don't think they really talked about it. i read through bits of the book in a bookstore, and i think the book ended at ian's death and the inquiry.

I, for one, really liked Deborah's book. I knew nothing of Ian's personal troubles for a long time, partly as a result of having no access to the speculation and news from the UK, and partly as a result that I'd made a decision that I would keep a respectful distance about the whole scenario.

The fact that she did write her book allowed me to indulge the part of me that craved the details about their relationships, figuring that if she was okay with writing about her and Ian, then there was no reason for me not to read it.

If I'd been in her position, I think I would've been upset as well; being shut out of the thing that motivates your spouse could not have been an easy thing to take.

I just found a lot of it very bitter and difficult to read between the lines of. He comes across as an arsehole in a lot of it, but I can't help thinking that this is because she didn't understand a lot of it, simple as that.

Fuck me if I say "a lot of it" again, shoot me !!!!!!!!!!

if anything touching from a distance is and will be a book written by Ians wife as she saw it happen he left her he wanted to be a rock star not a sad sod with a kid and of course the book is one sided to how his actions affected her but if anything its a fuking good read and if Peter Hook had wrote it it would be again from his side and totally differnt to Debrah's the only true story of Ian Curits will never be known because hes dead and he didnt write an autobiography before he left

Seem to remember writing about this yesterday! I agree with you - it was very brave of her to write the book as she doesn't come across at all well, when i was reading it in fact i remember thinking 'cow' out loud a number of times it suited her to go out with and marry the 'slightly odd boy' no disrespect but wasn't really understanding or it seemed to me like she didn't want to understand. Often she seems selfish and wanting pity but she didn't get it from me. (that could be mine or Mrs C's!)

Originally posted by snucker i'm just curious about ian's daughter, what's her name, natalie? i wonder what she thinks about her father

She had a cameo role in 24hr PP.The last i heard,it had been left on the cutting-room floor.

i liked the book thought it was very honest.

what a lot of fans don't understand about JD is that they were just a normal band starting off as normal bands do, signing to a new label, very young, no money etc. thats what you need to judge the whole JD thing from them being very young normal manc/macc guys. sure ian curtis was a fantastic song writer and frontman, but he was very trouble by his illness and insecurites of success

it did make Ian seem like a jerk, but it's hard to see into his thoughts...after all, he never planned to stick around too long

I also read the book in one sitting...very compelling read. Having read the other Joy Division bios that are around (ie An Ideal For Living and Pleasures and Wayward Distractions) it was good to get the perspective of someone like Deborah. I felt her portrayal was brutally honest and it did at times paint him as not a very nice person. But he was human after all complete with his faults and weaknesses. His lyrics were quite dark and at the same time beautiful and her bio somehow gives more insight into into where he was coming from when he wrote those words.

To me it was an interesting insight into how he went about writing those beautiful lyrics. Obviously he was suffering a lot from his epilepsy problem which probably led to pyschological problems - these problems combined with the fact he wanted to be a rock star (which is a kind of disease itself!) were always going to end in tragedy. Keith Richards once said something like "quality art usually comes from a good deal of suffering".

Regarding Deborah Curtis she comes across as a bit naive and out of her depth which is probably just as well as a more "switched on" girl would not have put up with the trouble that surrounded Ian Curtis.