‘The Long Hard Road Out of Hell’ by Marilyn Manson with Neil Strauss
When Brian Hugh Warner came into the world on January 5th, 1969, the only child of Barb and Hugh Warner, few could have predicted his eventual metamorphosis into Marilyn Manson - one of the most controversial and compelling acts in recent memory. The name Marilyn Manson, a somewhat twisted movie star/serial killer combo coined by Warner himself, has many associations, the overwhelming majority of them bad. Nihilism. On-stage violence and S&M. Satan worship. Self-mutilation. But are any of these accurate? And what of all those crazy rumours, like the one about his having had three ribs removed for, ahem, self-gratification purposes? Did he really play Paul on The Wonder Years? Could he really be the spawn of Charles Manson and Marilyn Monroe, or better still the devil?
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, which was published in 1998 and co-written with journalist Neil Strauss, is Marilyn Manson’s gut-bustingly candid life story, tracking his evolution from shy Christian schoolboy into America’s worst nightmare; the self-styled God of Fuck. The book opens with Manson’s vivid retelling of what he and his cousin stumbled upon in their grandfather’s iniquitous basement den; in amongst the tools and train sets they unearthed enema bags, fetish magazines, bestiality pictures and - my personal favourite - ‘a Friar Tuck toy that popped a boner when its head was pushed in.’ This opening chapter - one of the most disturbing and simultaneously gripping intros I’ve come across - shows the reader exactly where Manson got his morbid sensibilities from. Yes, he was disgusted by all that he found, but he was also more than a little bit curious.
From his early years as a student at Heritage Christian School in Canton, Ohio, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell moves on to detail the birth of Marilyn Manson in earnest, and it quickly becomes clear that the artist formerly known as Brian Warner was out to shock from the beginning. The band’s early shows, back when they were known as Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, frequently included self-mutilation, arson, and naked girls on leashes. It is not for the faint of heart, but if you have a strong stomach and are not averse to squirming it makes for fascinating reading. The Long Hard Road Out of Hell has a great deal of humour in it also, and Manson is not afraid to poke fun at himself whenever necessary. Oddly enough, even in amongst all the torture and sodomy, the only part that really made me wince was Manson’s account of having to remove his make-up with floor cleaner when he was arrested in Florida. FLOOR CLEANER?! My face gets pissed off when I splash it with warm water, never mind fucking floor cleaner… But if you’re a normal human being you’ll probably care less about this and more about Manson ramming his finger up the asshole of some poor (but very willing) girl.
I really enjoyed The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, and I’m not even that huge a Manson fan. It succeeded in holding my attention after three or four other books failed to do so, and I got a kick out of reading it at the hairdresser’s while the women on either side of me were reading Marie Claire and Company. My only criticism is this: WHERE THE HECK IS THE REST OF IT? The Long Hard Road Out of Hell was published fourteen years ago, pre-Columbine, pre-Mechanical Animals, pre-Dita von Teese and Evan Rachel Wood. I believe the book even pre-dates his relationship with Scream actress Rose McGowan. There is still a great deal left to talk about, and I for one am looking forward to The Longer Harder Road Out of Hell. Heh…see what I did there?
This piece was originally published on alisonlaurabell.tumblr.com in May 2012.