Life with My Sister Madonna
By Christopher Ciccone with Wendy Leigh
Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 342 pages, $29
The Madonna of her brother Christopher Ciccone's world is a self-absorbed egotist whose affection and approval Christopher craves -- as much as he envies her vast wealth.
Ciccone, whose much-hyped biography comes across as a light summer read, likes to bask in his sister's reflected glory.
On the evidence here, he also seems to enjoy hanging out with her famous friends ranging, from Demi Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow to Warren Beatty.
At various times, Ciccone was Madonna's backup dancer, personal assistant, dresser, decorator, art director and tour director.
He accurately confesses: "I was born my mother's son, but I will die my sister's brother."
Unlike the other two unauthorized biographies of Madonna by J. Randy Taraborrelli and Andrew Morton, this one is told from the author Ciccone's perspective alone, rather than relying on interviews with a myriad of sources.
It's also told in the present tense, as in "Madonna does this" and "I do that." This can be distracting at times, because clearly the events described are in the past.
Like Ciccone himself, the writing style is over-the-top and flamboyant.
"Even I," he writes, "who is now the closest person on Earth to the Queen of the World -- can't truly fathom how it feels to walk in her size-seven shoes, stalked by so much expectation, so much adoration, so many who love her, so many who hate her, so many who long for her to fall flat on her famous face."
Many of the details dished here about Madonna have been published before, such as her legendary loathing of air conditioning and her habit of having it turned off in sweltering arenas where she's performing in the middle of summer.
Christopher and Madonna grew up in Michigan among five children whose mother died when Madonna was five. This too has been well documented.
It's also no surprise when he admits that he and his big sister are both "attention junkies."
Whenever he criticizes his sister for using her personal life to make money, it's hard not to tarnish him with the same accusation.
Christopher was the sibling to whom she was closest, until money came between them. Madonna, claims her brother, refused to pay him what he was worth to decorate her houses.
Their altercations are quite spectacular, as when Madonna yells at her brother: "I've made you what you are. You wouldn't be anything without me."
A few years ago, after one of their spats, Christopher broke his hand after he smashed it on his desk in frustration.
His e-mail response to Madonna : "I gave up my f--ing life to make you the evil queen you are today.... A little f--ing respect was all I ever wanted from you and you couldn't even manage that."
As he opines early in the memoir: "What she has given me -- the joy of creating with her, of being with her, of loving her and being loved by her -- she will ultimately take away."
What cannot be taken away is the fact that Ciccone is a good storyteller, with a good story to tell.
Brenlee Carrington is a Winnipeg lawyer, mediator and journalist.
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