Readers might reasonably wonder if such an artist merits a doorstop like this one.

Gripping and searching.

Fishman’s cri de coeur effort to piece together the puzzle that was Connie Converse, to make the case for her singular talent, and to bring her songs—at long last—to the attention of the broad audience Fishman believes they deserve.

The first biography of Converse, although biography is too tidy a word for this shaggy beast of a book. It’s a close study of Converse’s music, a patchwork memoir of Fishman’s own decade-plus obsession with the singer, and a piecemeal reckoning with the Converse family’s history of alcoholism, mental illness, and borderline incest. It’s also unabashedly a fan’s book, with all of the passion and chauvinism that implies.

Fishman has his work cut out filling in the blanks in Converse’s life, which accounts for the book’s many narrative detours. He gets rather too involved with the stories of Converse’s parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents.

Extraordinary.

In-depth biography.

A rich biography.