Growing up I was a huge Nirvana fan, and I remember exactly where I was walking when Kurt Loder’s grimly announced the death of the 27 year old musical genius from behind the news desk on MTV, and suddenly being arrested in my tracks, my 17 year old body quivering despite it being about 80 degrees as I was living in Florida at the time, not believing despite his baritone echoing the news over and over again on a seemingly endless loop. I didn’t break down crying. The shock and horror of it was too painful to process.
I saved the cover of that Rolling Stone for years, the one with the haunting black and white image of him – not the whole magazine because I didn’t care about it in the least – just his face.
It was one of the great losses the music world has endured; an industry where there have been so terrible many.
It is also what led me to find one of my favorite authors, Joe Hill, thirteen years later.
Heart-shaped Box(William Morrow, 2007) caught my attention because that was and is still one of my favorite Nirvana songs. I had never heard of Joe Hill but I picked it up at Barnes and Noble and didn’t even bother reading the entire back of the book – the title alone already had me hooked – just a few lines I read while waiting at the checkout, and I think I finished his debut novel within the next two days, it was that irresistible.
Like with many books I come to love, I re-read them at later dates – sometimes years later, sometimes many times or, in this case, just once.
It’s been about 10 years since I first read this book and though I’ve recommended it countless times, I had never picked it back up until this week. It left me breathless and panicked, and in awe of Joe Hill, just as it did the first time.
From what I understand, Cobain originally titled his haunting song “Heart-Shaped Coffin” which, in the case of Hill’s masterpiece, is certainly fitting as well.