LEAD SISTER
LUCY O’ BRIEN
NINE EIGHT BOOKS
★★★★
While very few would disagree that Karen Carpenter was one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time, that description can often seem reductive, diminishing so many other attributes that the superstar possessed. Here, Lucy O’Brien sets out to rectify that oversight in her latest scintillating study, Lead Sister. Four decades after Carpenter’s untimely passing at the age of just 32 from complications associated with anorexia, the author looks at her life and legacy with a new perspective, thanks to contributions from those that knew the woman behind the musical masquerade.