With the 35th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death looming, the guitar god is reborn. In Charles Cross’ “Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jim Hendrix,” the tale of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll collides with the narrative of a young black boy stricken with poverty who craves a “normal life.”

Based on more than 300 interviews, never-before-seen documents and private letters, Cross successfully recounts an extremely detailed biography without skipping a beat.

The 356-page book begins with Hendrix’s birth and glimpses through the most private parts of his life. Beware! You might feel like a Peeping Tom. Cross describes Hendrix’s nomad-like childhood in Seattle’s projects, his troubled family affairs, his conflicts with racial prejudice as a young musician and his quick rise to fame.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this biography is that you come away feeling as if you really know the guy. Hendrix was a man with many sides. The quiet, well-mannered perfectionist contradicts the cape-wearing superhero figure who humps his guitar on stage. Yet this clash was Hendrix’s main appeal.

The book’s title comes from a piece of art created by Hendrix in 1969. It’s a two-by-four-foot mirror that holds an unbroken circle of glass surrounded by 50 pointy shards. This artwork, which rests in Hendrix’s father’s basement, “was Jimi’s ‘Room Full of Mirrors.'”

The song “Room Full of Mirrors” was never released during the musician’s lifetime, but it gives evidence of his capability to find himself through his music. “The song ... tells the story of a man trapped in a world of self-reflection so powerful it haunts him even in his dreams. He is liberated after smashing the mirrors, and wounded from the shattered glass,” Cross writes.

Cross literally takes the reader through an almost day-to-day account of Hendrix’s life, so much so that when the inevitable day of his death arrives, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed with emotions as the man you got so close to ends his life.

There are so many details of Hendrix’s 27 short years that the biography becomes almost excruciating. But in the end, it’s all worth it. Cross succeeds in making the real Jimi Hendrix immortal.