A week squatting at Kanye’s mansion

I have always enjoyed John Safran’s work and even though he was partly responsible for me being needlessly being put on anti-psychotics when the on-duty psychiatrist at a major hospital did not believe we knew each other “what’s a little agony between friends” (due to national security reasons I cannot really go into the initiating incident).

Fijian gentleman, myself and John Safran in 2004

I have known him early 2000s when he was doing RRR Breakfasters and saw him filming something for John Safran’s Music Jamboree near my work as the production office is close by. Due to him making a comment at the Breakfasters end of year show at the St Kilda bowlo and me posting another comment I ended up filming a pick up for John Safran vs God in early 2004. We have sort of kept in touch since then, at least he says hello when I see him. RRR hosts know when I SMS them at least Tim Thorpe does. The Breakfasters refused to read out one of my messages on air, was a the “vaping during sex” one.

As I said to him at the Breakfasters end of year show the other week at the end of 2024 I am a couple of books behind on his releases but I doubt he has read any of my work either! It does too count if they are in the State Library of Victoria for “legal deposit” reasons. The library did actually buy one of them.

I have always found his books eminently readable and more like the outline of a screenplay than a “proper” book, showing you do not have to write books just the one way. I can’t really think when I have read a book so quickly that was not a graphic novel since Tomorrow When the War Began which you can sit down and read in one go. I even took to reading this on the train which I had stopped doing due to the Werribee line being so bumpy.

I reject the premise that the book “fails” as he did not actually get to meet Kayne, that wasn’t the point of it. You can still get a sense of a person the way they influence the people around them. “Moonface” has to deal with a lot of people trying to threaten Kayne and also keep the man himself in check so they would have very short patience for any nonsense. Believe you me my patience has buggered off to the pub after 5 years in customer service phone support.

Not too much name-dropping in this one but as John is in Los Angeles it makes sense he would have just come across these people or had connections to others. I liked the part where his partner goes off with the Pastor and leaves him the compound. I would like to hear what she thought of him bashing on the wall at the church.

Well worth your time if you have even a passing interest in the cultural impact of Kayne West and want something more behind it as it does go more into the effects of his pronouncements have on other people.

Rating: 5/5

Book details:

Published: 22 October 2024

ISBN: 9781760890179

Imprint: Penguin

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 320

RRP: $36.99

Genre: Non-fiction