Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Just Kids by Patti Smith

24 reviews

page_28's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A gift

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicide

thmei's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy

for the addiction & drug use tags: she & especially robert use drugs casually, mostly hallucinogens and later weed, and if i remember correctly they befriend some alcoholics but nothing particularly distressing or graphic is described, it’s just frequently mentioned. they have some bad trips but mostly lots of fun and creativity. for the pregnancy tag:

patti is briefly pregnant at 19 towards the beginning of the book and describes being treated badly during labor and the bittersweet sadness of giving up a child. she is also pregnant again as a married adult during the last chapter.

nothing is graphic at all. for the grief and death tags: robert’s death

from aids, as well as the death of his partner sam wagstaff,

is the primary focus of the last two chapters. you know from the prologue that he will die. these chapters are quite short and i personally didn’t find them overwhelming, but they are sad and the hopefulness at the beginning of this ordeal is very sad to the reader, who knows what will inevitably happen. it’s also quite easy to predict what will occur given the events of the book and any knowledge of the era, even with no knowledge of patti smith’s life. it is still extremely upsetting.

eunicaa's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

Felt like I was holding Patti and Robert’s hands across the years. While some parts toes the line of myth-making, there is always an undercurrent of tenderness. And what a whirlwind to experience the gritty New York that birthed so many artists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Terminal illness

bugcollector's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

2.0

just wasn't interesting or written in a captivating way

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

andrewhatesham's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Medical content, Death, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Blood, Death of parent, Suicide, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Racism, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Homophobia

rzh's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

ohh this was just gorgeous. paints a beautiful, evocative picture of the new york scene in the chelsea in the 60s and 70s: i love reading books set/talking about this time period as it seems like such a far off country now. patti smith really transports you there. i love books with deep descriptions of physical detritus, of belongings and collections which make up a person's surroundings in different stages of their life, and this is one of those: patti and robert are both real magpies (as they were both visual artists this make sense) and the description of their art and belongings really builds a picture of their homes and studios over the years. i've seen a couple of reviews talking about how this book doesn't have much of a plot and whilst this is true, it is a memoir, not a novel, so it doesn't have a plot as much as life doesn't have a plot. a beautiful ode to robert mapplethorpe and a really touching insight to the beautiful relationship between him and patti smith. loved it and would definitely read again !!! 4.75 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Terminal illness

Moderate: Medical trauma, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Grief

Minor: Suicide

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional

5.0

To read Just Kids is more than anything to feel. Sadness, inspiration, love, grief. Through the intimate lense of 70’s New York, I have not only garnered information on the incredible lives of Patti Smith and Robert
Mapplethorpe, but discovered something of myself in the process. Through this review I will try to put all of these emotions into words and give this book the justice it deserves.
Just Kids reflects on the profound relationship between the aforementioned artists: Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. While their friendship is a key focus of the memoir, Patti Smith discovers her own path to art, which will take many forms over the course of her lifetime. It is a privilege to be accepted into her world- for however so briefly- and meander through the memories of a legend.
The beauty of art displayed within the book-romanticized by myself as a wannabe writer- is what almost instantly drew to the story. However, it is Smith’s ability to articulate the complexities of love and human kind which makes Just Kids a new favorite. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Death, Pregnancy, and Drug use

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual content, and Cultural appropriation

lindsayerin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Cultural appropriation

biab00's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Robert and I had explored the frontier of our work and created space for each other. When I walked on the stages of the world without him I would close my eyes and picture him taking off his leather jacket, entering with me the infinite land of a thousand dances.

This one was tough to rate in my opinion, but in terms of writing and the flowing of it I love it, I felt emersed into their lives and shared stories. 
This was crushing to read especially the last parts, but it was so worth it, it was a beautiful relationship and I'm glad I picked this one up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, and Pregnancy

margozaldivar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment