Library of Cultural References

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Rhymes with Useless

by Terence Young [Raincoast Books - 2001]
ASIN: 1551923548

Les found a review of this novel with at least one Joni mention on the January Magazine Web site.Here is an excerpt from that review, by Margaret Gunning:

As if to regain some sense of power, Eustace regales Billie with a long, rambling, suspiciously tall story about how he once had his hair cut by a then-unknown Joni Mitchell. As the story comes out bit by improbable bit -- the work gang up north, the car wash where Joni had a summer job -- Billie's curiosity begins to show through her scorn: "The girl at the gas station," Billie said. "You're not about to tell me you stumbled on Joni Mitchell killing time as a pump jockey. Not the Joni Mitchell who sang at Woodstock. You can't expect me to buy a lie as dumb as that."

Yet the spell of the story works, as this bit of dialogue reveals:

"What did she look like?" Billie asked.

"Blonde, thin."

"So was I, once."

"I remember."

(Contributed by Les Irvin)

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