Zayn Review: Life After 1D And Nothing More
I am not a big fan of One Direction. I have heard a few songs of theirs but never really took interest in the boy band. I first heard of ex-One Direction member Zayn Malik when I read a news article of Shah Rukh Khan clicking a selfie with him for his daughter, Suhana. Curious, I read up about him and was surprised to know that a boy as young as him had dared to leave a super-successful band at its peak to embark on a solo career. Then came out his solo Pillowtalk and I was awestruck by his singing prowess. I used to listen to Pillowtalk on a loop. The line ‘…….I love to wake up next to you’ still reverberates in my head. When I bought this book, I thought it must be a regular tell-all tale where he will explain what happened between him and the band and why he left. But surprisingly, it was nothing of that sort. The book was more of a memoir of his journey post-One Direction. Zayn’s journey is intriguing as starting afresh, after tasting stupendous success is no joke. And Zayn has revealed how hard his journey was and how terribly lonely he felt while doing so. The book is an insight into the singer’s life and his struggles.
Zayn: The Official Autobiography
ZAYN opens up with this collection of thoughts, inspiration, and never-before-seen personal photographs. After five years of massive success with One Direction, ZAYN launched his career as a solo artist with Mind of Mine, becoming one of the most successful artists in the world. Now, for the first time ever, ZAYN is going to tell and show all in this intimate and raw scrapbook of his life. Never-before-released photos give readers insight to ZAYN, no-holds-barred. Gorgeously designed with hundreds of full-colour photographs and Zayn’s notes, drawings, song lyrics, and personal stories, the book captures Zayn’s most private moments and his candid feelings on fame, success, music, and life. The next chapter of ZAYN’S evolution into a global superstar, told by the artist who is living it.
(Book description is taken from Goodreads.com)
Points I Liked About Zayn
No Slandering: Much opposed to my expectations Zayn’s book does not indulge into muckraking. He sticks only to what he felt and why he left the group. Nowhere has he mentioned anything scandalous or controversial about the group which is something I appreciate. Bitching about his group would make him look like an ungrateful person. And since he refrained from speaking ill about anybody, my respect for him has grown a manifold. He had his issues with the music the band produced and so he left. In the book, he says that his statements are often misconstrued which is why he is writing a book so his fans know exactly what he wants to say to them.
Relatable Journey: Zayn has written a lot about his struggles in life. His confessions make him a relatable person than an unreachable star that he is. I, surprisingly, could relate to a lot of his problems even though I am not even from that field of work. The way he fights against all his problems and rises above negativity is admirable considering that he is barely in his twenties. I didn’t have much of an opinion about Zayn before the book. His image in my mind was of someone who could not get along with his band members. This book was an eye-opener and I was reminded that whatever is reported in gossip magazines may be twisted and presented to make the news sound more alluring to the readers.
Points I Did Not Like About Zayn
Less of Content: The book is full of Zayn’s images and hardly has any content in it. Had I been his fan I would have happily drooled over the photos but since I am not a crazy fan of his, his pictures seemed like a waste for me. I read this book on my Kindle so maybe that is why I was not impressed by his images. But I am sure that I was hungry for content which I got but not as much as I would like. It’s OK if he did not want to speak about One Direction, but he could have at least given a brief account of his life before he shot to stardom. The book focuses mainly on the process of his solo career and how he met his producers and co-artists. I guess he is saving his pre-One Direction life content for another auto-biography later in life.
Final View: I would recommend this book only to fans of Zayn Malik. If you are not a fan of his and only want to know why he left One Direction, then let me tell you that he left the band because he was unhappy with the kind of music they produced. That is all he mentions in the book and does not speak anything more about 1D. So, do not buy this book hoping to read some juicy gossip.
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