rogifan said:

purplerabbithole said:

I have mixed feelings about the book. I am glad I bought it. They are great pictures. But the book is small (size wise) and the photos being leaked on line (where they can be enlarged etc) didn't help matters.

Plus, I wasn't crazy about the dream sequences which were longer and more 'intimate' than the actual accounts of P. I sense that it was more of a very respectful working relationship with some nice moments than a "friendship" per see. The stories felt vague at times. I liked the Rembrandt, and seat belt stories. I respect that he was willing to sit through P's preaching and still maintain his own beliefs (seems P understood that as well) . But he referenced P's goofy side but told very few stories that indicate his sense of humor.. I wanted more text and a bigger book. I am glad I bought the book and I thank Afshin. But I wish there was a bit more. The vagueness made me think there wasn't much there in terms of real closeness. Either that or he was holding back a bit. Also, in a way, the book made me sad. Prince just seemed extremely lonely at times. The party pictures were cool but like Chris Rock pointed out when he saw P in St. Bart's--the dude seemed like he was still working to some extent. 3121 promotion while schmoozing. I am sure it was fun, but couldn't he just put the music aside and have a party?

[Edited 10/30/17 20:36pm]

[Edited 10/30/17 21:57pm]

I agree that the text left me wanting more and I didn’t much care for the dream sequences. My guess is the vagueness is because they were so close and he’s respecting the private relationship they had. When Afshin did that short interview with Good Morning America he got emotional and had to wipe away tears.

The dream sequence initially left me confused. I think it would have been better if he had offered some explanation in the Introduction or a special note letting us know what to expect. Really, I think, for the dreams to be fully integrated into the flow of the book, the word "dream" would need to be somewhere in the title or subtitle. That was, in my estimation, an editorial oversight by St. Martin's Press. Having said all that, I still think "Prince: A Private View" is nothing short of a masterpiece.

[Edited 10/31/17 16:47pm]

Strawberrylova123 said:

rogifan said:

I saw it’s getting mostly 5 star reviews on Amazon. I don’t have mine yet. If you have Steve Parke’s book how would you compare/contrast the two?

I personally liked Afshins book more than Steve's because the pictures are more intimate.

I absolutely agree with your opinion Strawberrylova123. I also like Afshins' book a lot more. And I do like the book of Steve. Afshin captured Prince during intimate moments, also when he did not expect that he was photographed. It results in a much more personal set of photo's. It is more event driven instead of staged. For me it gives a more accurate image of the person and musician Prince that I remember over the last decades than the pictures in the book of Steve Parke.

[Edited 11/3/17 10:51am]

FlyOnTheWall said:

anangellooksdown said:

FlyOnTheWall said:

The dream sequence initially left me confused. I think it would have been better if he had offered some explanation in the Introduction or a special note letting us know what to expect. Really, I think, for the dreams to be fully integrated into the flow of the book, the word "dream" would need to be somewhere in the title or subtitle. That was, in my estimation, an editorial oversight by St. Martin's Press. Having said all that, I still think "Prince: A Private View" is nothing short of a masterpiece.

[Edited 10/31/17 16:47pm]

I wouldn’t call this book a “masterpiece”. I don’t use words like that lightly and reserve them for when it’s really in order to use them. The photos are close to that but the dreams themselves and the reason they were included is not always clear. I also would have liked to have seen dates and locations for more of or all of the photos. However, it was truly a wonderful and appreciated gift to have these photographs shared with me, and I appreciate that very much. Getting to see these photos was a highlight of 2017 for me.

That's your contrarian opinion, to which you are entitled; however, if you take a moment to peruse the Amazon reviews, you will see that I am not alone in my assessment. Some people need to learn to give credit where it is due. Also, I need to look through my copy again, but I believe that most of the photos do include dates and locations. There is even a Photo Log at the end of the book that lists the photos by date and location.

anangellooksdown said:

FlyOnTheWall said:

That's your contrarian opinion, to which you are entitled; however, if you take a moment to peruse the Amazon reviews, you will see that I am not alone in my assessment. Some people need to learn to give credit where it is due. Also, I need to look through my copy again, but I believe that most of the photos do include dates and locations. There is even a Photo Log at the end of the book that lists the photos by date and location.

Thank you for pointing me to the photo log with locations and dates. I hadn't seen that. Very good! Now to respond to your other comment, I don't go by what others' reviews or opinions are about books or anything else in life. I make my own assessment. Off-topic and just in general: I am also that way with people. I don't see a person how others see them; I see them how I see them.

That's great. But, rather than countering my own personal assessment with your direct contrarian response, you could have just left a stand-alone comment. That would be a lot less stalker-ish.

anangellooksdown said:

FlyOnTheWall said:

That's great. But, rather than countering my own personal assessment with your direct contrarian response, you could have just left a stand-alone comment. That would be a lot less stalker-ish.

"Stalkerish" -- because everything's about you?

It is what it is.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Afshin Shahidi and Prince

Is that Lawnie bending P's ear?

Mumio said: