Falling into You: The Story of Céline Dion

Pauline Carey is the author of Magic and What’s in a Name?

Barry Grills uses the life of Céline Dion to explore the convolutions
of the music industry, the tensions between the French and English
cultures in Canada, and the cultural curiosity he calls divadom. His
examination of pop music’s innate conservatism and of the careers of
such stars as Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston is one
of the most interesting sections of the book. Anyone looking for what he
calls the “minute details” of Dion’s life, however, will be
disappointed. “The mission,” he states, “is to examine the
‘times’ that have shaped her music and the power of her music to
shape our lives.”

The opening pages may prompt fears that the character of the singer
will be buried under the mission of the author. However, we are slowly
introduced to the child prodigy from Quebec who would become a
superstar—a superstar who, observers insist, has her feet planted
firmly on the ground. Grills appears never to have met the singer, but
he quotes extensively from people who have interviewed or known or
simply watched her, such as Billboard’s Larry LeBlanc and the music
historian Martin Melhuish.

The bare facts of Dion’s career are efficiently covered, but we also
learn about the ongoing debate over the relative merits of her French
and English performances, as well as about the discrepancy between the
highly polished delivery on her records and the exuberant charm that she
displays in live concerts. What is not up for discussion is her stoic
work ethic or the determination with which she has transformed herself
into a dual-language superstar.

The singer comes across as a complex character in her public life. As
the author promised, we learn little of her private life except that it
is very much focused on her career. A quote from Dion herself is
revealing: “I don’t know myself very well because my life went
faster than the time I had to live it.”

Photographs (some in color), a discography, and lists of videos and
awards are included.