Originally published in his native German in 2006 it has taken 3 years to get Reinhard Kleist’s ‘I See A Darkness’ translated and published in the UK, and it’s been well worth the wait.
Max and Moritz award winner Kleist tells the story of Johnny Cash as told by Glen Sherley, an inmate at Folsom Prison. In the days leading up to Cash’s Folsom concert, Sherley tells a fellow inmate the story of Johnny Cash, a man who he feels connected to “Forget Elvis…Cash is our guy. He knows what it’s like to go through Hell”. The book takes us through Cash’s entire life; from being a cotton farmer’s son to the biggest country music star in the world, his battle with prescription medication and suicide attempt to his eventual redemption and recovery.
After Sherley and Cash meet in Folsom the narrative switches for the final pages. Cash, now a frail old man in very poor health, is in his last days of recording his iconic ‘American’ albums with producer Rick Rubin. Cash now recounts Sherley’s early release from Folsom, which Cash himself arranged, and Sherley’s time playing with Cash on tour.
I won’t go into the final pages of the book, it’s something you should read for yourself but the book captures the very darkest parts of Johnny Cash whilst showing the touching and emotional bond he had with his second wife June, his overwhelming need to keep working in spite of serious health problems and June’s death just 5 months before his own. ‘I See A Darkness’ is a late contender for my favourite book of 2009.
