The first third or so is excellent. The tone is somber, the writing is evocative, the setting is isolated, and most women will understand the anxiety The first third or so is excellent. The tone is somber, the writing is evocative, the setting is isolated, and most women will understand the anxiety and pain of what the characters are going through.
It loses its way after the set-up, however, and never fully regains its urgency or depth of feeling. I really wish this had gone through a couple more rounds of edits to punch up the plot, enrich the character arcs, and more fully explore the fraught themes presented. This promises to take you to a devastating place, but leaves you a few stops short of that experience.
Categorizing this is difficult, too, it’s sort of a dystopian set-up but it’s supposed to take place in the forties—but it doesn’t really feel of that time period, either. And it approaches The Yellow Wallpaper-type psychological horror, but abandons that far too quickly.
Trigger warnings, obviously, for difficult pregnancy, childbirth, and loss.
Audio Notes: Narrator sets the tone very well with her delivery....more
Too sketchy to be historical fiction, too pedestrian to be literary fiction, too prosaic to be romance.
With uninteresting characters (which is saying Too sketchy to be historical fiction, too pedestrian to be literary fiction, too prosaic to be romance.
With uninteresting characters (which is saying something, considering most of it is set in a brothel), no antagonist, unconvincing motivations, no real emotion, and underdeveloped/late-presenting feminist and other themes, this is a miss on all levels. And the shifting focus to countless unsexy, token sex scenes once a guy comes into the picture both weirded me out and bored me.
I've also read a ton of books written in the 50s and this doesn't feel very "period." Such a strangely uninteresting little book....more
3.5 stars Enjoyed! Give me all the underground detective agencies with fun gadgets and nefarious villains. The next book should have less set-up and m3.5 stars Enjoyed! Give me all the underground detective agencies with fun gadgets and nefarious villains. The next book should have less set-up and maybe sharper characterization and relationships, so will hopefully be even better.
Really loved the moody fever dream writing and how neglected Elodie’s flushed sexual obsession with the new couple on town draws you in. I also liked Really loved the moody fever dream writing and how neglected Elodie’s flushed sexual obsession with the new couple on town draws you in. I also liked the audiobook narrator and of course, the inspiration—a French village in the 50s inexplicably besieged by hallucinations and death.
But ultimately, the story left me wanting more. I think this could have been a strong 4 stars with more plot development....more
3.5 stars> I typed 3 paragraphs in this space on my phone from a jury room, but the app glitched and lost it all. Grrr. I’ll come back at some point t3.5 stars> I typed 3 paragraphs in this space on my phone from a jury room, but the app glitched and lost it all. Grrr. I’ll come back at some point to redo this. ...more
2.5 stars The first third of this book was so engrossing. A woman is accused of murdering her two children--but Ruth is not your typical mother, and s2.5 stars The first third of this book was so engrossing. A woman is accused of murdering her two children--but Ruth is not your typical mother, and she will not garner the usual sympathy, because she's always perfectly made up and she drinks in excess and she takes a lot of lovers and she's--gasp--a cocktail waitress. I was interested in this portrait of a woman who is judged so harshly by her outward appearance; for some women, careful clothes and makeup are armor used to mask what's going on inside, even during the most stressful times.
But that is pretty much the only thought-provoking idea to come out of this. I have no idea what happened, except that the last two thirds of this character study got derailed by an ineffectual, not-very-bright, off-putting journalist and a terribly inept mystery that is littered with uninteresting people with half-hearted motivations and very little conviction. (Not to mention a couple of pretty spectacular info-dump interviews shoe-horned in late in the game.) There are a few brief moments when you catch a glimpse of what this book could have been through Ruth's private grief, but they come early on and are quickly forgotten. The kids' brutal (though non-explicit) murders barely register, because they're merely props like everything else.
In the end, what's clearly meant to be an examination of slut-shaming and a challenge of feminine ideals still misses the mark; it doesn't really go anywhere, and both the characters and the reader leave the book unchanged. A huge miss as a suspense novel and a missed opportunity as both character study and as feminist commentary. ...more
I don't read many celebrity memoirs, for two reasons: 1. It's hard for most people, famous or not, to examine their lives with an appropriate degree oI don't read many celebrity memoirs, for two reasons: 1. It's hard for most people, famous or not, to examine their lives with an appropriate degree of self-awareness and context and 2. many celebrities don't have that much to say.
I don't mean #2 as a slam at all; many fictional books, from very successful authors, suffer from the same failing. A series of connected events can move you from Point A to Point B and that can be the end of it. But a plot becomes a story, and a biography becomes a memoir, when it has something more to express about the author's view of his or her place in the world. Tippi, written by the iconic Hitchcock star of The Birds and Marnie, is probably the most satisfying celebrity memoir I've ever read, in no small part because Tippi Hedren expresses passion and purpose in every aspect of her life.
Whether she's writing about her childhood or early beginnings as a model (I love books and films set in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and this book provides wonderful detail about what it was like to be a young woman embarking upon a career in that era) or luminaries of the screen or passing acquaintances, she writes about the people in her life with extraordinary warmth and generosity. Of particular note are the way she describes her relationship with her parents and her daughter and granddaughter (actresses Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson), and the pride she feels in how their extended families have retained relationships. She writes about her marriages with clear-eyed candor and appreciation, examining how each of her four major relationships led to other great loves in her life.
One of the most important was her second marriage, which led to a project that sparked her dedication to animal activism. I've been longing to go to her Shambala Preserve in southern California for ages (safari tours? overnight tent stays? yes, please!) and after reading this, I want to go even more. The lengthy chapters describing Tippi and her then-husband's efforts to make a film about the big cats slows down the book pacing-wise quite a bit--this is probably the book's biggest misstep--but they do effectively make you understand her passion and determination to educate and provide sanctuary for endangered exotic felines.
It's also fascinating to read about a young Jan de Bont's dedication to getting the perfect shot--so much so that this future cinematographer/director/producer of DIE HARD, SPEED, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, MINORITY REPORT was literally scalped by a lion but was back to work within days; Tippi and her husband's initially cordial but eventually fraught involvement in THE EXORCIST; and of course, of particular interest to a lifelong lover of Hitchcock films, the day-to-day details of the actress' work on THE BIRDS and MARNIE. (I could go on and on about that last part obsessively, but I'll spare you.)
After many years of being circumspect in her interviews, the author finally talks about the way she was essentially groomed, sexually assaulted, and then blackballed in the industry by Alfred Hitchcock. These are all allegations I've heard before, but not with this detail; I cannot feel anything other than enormous sympathy for anyone enduring this, particularly as she is publicly questioned for the veracity of her statements. It's so easy to doubt victims, especially when it involves people you revere.
I come away with this with a great deal of admiration for the way she handled herself then and now; this is a self-portrait of a woman is sure of herself, aware of her own worth, and gracious and appreciative under all circumstances. Throughout the book, she repeatedly expresses gratitude for friends and employees who have been with her for decades, particularly through exceedingly difficult circumstances at Shambala; what she doesn't say, but what should be noted, is that it also speaks volumes that people have chosen to stay with her.
I got more than I expected with this celebrity memoir, and anyone who is interested in Hitchcock history should definitely pick this up. Tippi Hedren has things to say--and she says them exceedingly well.
Oh, PS! Tippi talks about how her daughter threw big parties for her 75th and 80th birthdays. I used to live 5 minutes from Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas' house, so I'm rather tickled to think that was happening literally a few blocks away. :)...more
Wendy Darling
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Books:
40s-50s-60s
(237)
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