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A small museum near the center of Dublin, Ireland, houses an entire floor of memorabilia associated with that city’s most famous musical export: U2. I am only a peripheral fan of this group, but many of my co-workers are much more dedicated followers. Thus, I spent a few hours exploring the exhibition in June 2022 at their insistence and enjoyed it immensely. The band’s displays ironically segued into their section on The Troubles, all of which gave me much to ponder during the remainder of my visit to that remarkable country.
My favorite portion of a memoir is the collection of photos that are often included. In this case, however, I opted for the audiobook. Although I missed out on the images, I was more than compensated by the multitude of extras. There were song samples, sound effects, recordings of other artists, and Bono’s completely fun voice impressions of all manner of persons from all across the globe. In fact, his regular reading voice was surprisingly smooth and steady (I had expected it to be more harsh and authoritarian), making the 20-hour listening experience very enjoyable.
Each chapter in Surrender is titled after a song, and on occasion, the listener learns something about how that song came to be. More frequently, however, these headings simply introduce us to a significant period of life that Bono wishes to elaborate upon, just not always within a tidy timeline. This is much less frustrating than it sounds. Over time, it is very easy to understand the overlaps and repetitions and get a comfortable sense of how the development of the man (Bono) was affected by all the events, places, and people he talks about.
He is proudly Irish and understands the incredible rarity of success and wealth he has, and the freedom it provides. He truly cares about right and wrong and states emphatically, “Fame is currency and I want to spend mine on the right stuff.” He is not shy about disclosing his spiritual nature and his lifelong attempts to balance his artistry and activism with his faith in Jesus Christ, and trying to know how to choose the Right Path. Neither is he shy about admitting that his ego is quite likely both his greatest strength and his most concrete obstacle. He is a control freak, yet he fully understands that his best efforts ALWAYS come through collaboration of one kind or another, which then distills another vat of self-recrimination.
This book really is all over the place. For my superficial U2 fandom, it became boring from time to time. However, true U2 fans will enjoy this as an audio product much more than they would as a print product, since his Irish accent is extremely pleasant. His voice is very, very satisfying to listen to and it is unique; I have never heard an audiobook read with the kind of random pauses that he inserts. It is impossible to tell if those lulls are intentional or natural, which for me made it a much more agreeable listening experience.
Rated: High. More than two dozen uses of strong profanity and another 30 instances of mild to moderate cursing. In keeping with his professed faith, only 3 usages of any form of Deity in vain.
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