God, what a delicious, gossipy, glamorous, but also emotional and thoughtful read ... The women are given every bit as much play as Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.
Parachute Women is the first to narrativize the collective experiences of the consorts and wives who shaped the musicians. Winder spotlights how the vast influence of these women on the Stones has largely been hidden in the shadow of the band’s monolithic mythos ... A step toward according these women their rightful place in music culture ... Chapter after chapter, Winder shows how these four women persevered, in the face of indignity and trauma ... It’s a grim indictment of the band and their enabling coterie. Winder is deeply empathetic to these women, and her disgust for the band and their yes men is plain, but she is hardly a critical biographer; she leaves the reader to draw their own judgments ... A welcome reprieve from the typical Stones hagiography, which casts Mick and Keef as self-made gods ... A valiant start.
A fascinating portrait ... Winder’s renderings of fiery, messy love affairs, bonds and betrayals, and vicious rivalry are backed up by keenly described historical background and an expert understanding of 1960s and ’70s rock culture. The result is a wild ride worthy of rock’s heyday.
Vivid ... Winder’s treatment is both deeply researched and endlessly dishy ... Gossipy, entertaining, and quite right in insisting on the central role of women in making an iconic band iconic.
