cover image Strange Days: 2my Life with and Without Jim Morrison

Strange Days: 2my Life with and Without Jim Morrison

Patricia Kennealy-Morrison. Dutton Books, $23 (464pp) ISBN 978-0-525-93419-6

Science fiction and fantasy writer Kennealy ( The Hawk's Gray Feather ), who exchanged wedding vows with Jim Morrison in 1970, gives an overwritten but essentially revealing account of her two-year relationship with the Doors' lead singer. This chronicle of an intense, unstable bond between two highly independent people presents sides of Morrison rarely glimpsed by the public: his shyness, intellect and complexity. Conversely the book also shows his petulant, selfish and erratic aspects, which were much more familiar to the Doors' fans. Unfortunately, Kennealy's descriptions tend to be outlandish--a dinner is comprised of ``Hellenistic conglomerations of lamb and foliage and Zeus-knows-what,'' and Morrison ``dwelled in Morrisonia, in Jimworld, in Lizard Kingdom; he dwelled there alone and he liked it best that way.'' Still, in recalling her time with Morrison and discussing her belief in Irish witchcraft, she displays a knowledge of herself and her subjects which is well thought-out and eminently satisfying. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (May)