Book Review / Recap (cont.)

When we left off things had started going badly for the Mapothers Cruises.

Chapter 9:
This is a pretty big chapter as far as information it includes.
They (Tom and Nic) break up. He's a dick about it, which is so unexpected. While she has been seemingly unappreciative of all his spoiling of her (almost as though all the sentiments and gifts were expected because of her strange sense of entitlement), once he finally was like, OK - we're done... she was crushed. I think she is the type of girl who feels like they can constantly demand and feel entitled to adoration without giving in return - and is shocked when this backfires on her. (Hmmm, I'll bet we all actually know people like this, right Aimee?) Anyway, he's not innocent in all of this. He's a real dick about it. (BTW, I know I keep using that word... but it really does feel to me like the most accurate word to use, besides being easier to type than massive jackass.) Also, he has already met Penelope Cruz and has her waiting in the wings for the divorce to finalize. (Are we seeing a pattern here? Bet Mimi Rogers could have told Nicole this was coming!) The divorce with Nic was all drama filled and sad smut. Penelope is a Catholic raised religious free spirit (I'm sure that makes sense to anyone who knows me), so she starts to hang with the Sci's. (I'm tired of typing the entire word Scientologist, so from now on they are Sci's.) This free spirited feeling for religions is going to prove all too accepting and heretic for the Sci's, leading to the breakup of Cruise/Cruz... but not until Chapter 10. Speaking of which....

Chapter 10:
This is the chapter where Tom starts going off the deep end. Literally. This is the fundamentalist sci that we've all watched with uncertainty for the last couple of years. The behavior seems to get more fanatic as he travels up LRon's bridge toward becoming his own god. He now has the ability to detoxify those hurt in 9/11, can cure any learning disability because of Sci's Study Tech, can get a junkie off drugs, can cure mental illness (which doesn't really exist, don't you know), and a multitude of other problems that are causing the ruin of society. He even peddles his messages in Washington, DC... so great is his belief that he has the correct answers and those in the government are dying to know his opinions. (He is so annoying at this point.) He thinks he as the "answers" because he has "done the reading." His answers are crap, and the only thing he's been reading are LRon's words. Even his good Samaritan acts are full of the feeling that he did it for the appearance of doing it - for how it looked, rather than the acts themselves. The deeper he gets in to the religion, the more being able to control his appearance matters to him. I think this is why he is SO offended by people thinking he is gay. It has nothing to do whether he is gay or not... but he can't control what people think of him - and this is his Achilles heel if you will. He thinks that he has a mystique that he can control. Bugs the hell out of him when people have their own opinions of what he is or might be.
From chapter 10; "Although he has lobbied vigorously for freedom of expression for his fellow Scientologists, Tom Cruise has proved relentless at using the law or professional arm twisting to muzzle others' freedom of speech." Exactly the problem.

In addition, today, I am adding my favorite quote from the book thus far. It has to do with the gay issue and it so funny. From Chapter 9:
"Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 has even spoken publicly about the rumor that he and Tom were caught in bed together by his wife. "If I was gay, Tom Cruise wouldn't be on the top of my list, " he said. "It would be Brad Pitt."

Take that, Tommy Boy!