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alliepeduto's review against another edition
3.0
Skimmed through most of this, but managed to learn a lot more about Carole King! Though truthfully that wasn’t hard for me to do, because prior to seeing “Beautiful: The Musical” I knew next to nothing about the legendary songstress.
offbalance80's review against another edition
3.0
An exhaustive look back on the life and times of Carole King. A lot of great anecdotes, but she does tend to ramble a lot. I'd say she needed an editor, but I fear that this is the highly edited version, based on the style. While I appreciated her putting every year of her life into the larger historical context, it honestly dragged things down. King's writing is at its best when she's talking about the music, and close to its best when she's talking about her experiences. Things slow when she's trying to wrap it all in some kind of large, historical ribbon. Still, this was very engrossing in spots, and was a great vacation read.
karawhipple's review against another edition
5.0
So well written I can’t get over it. I headcanon Scout Finch grew up to be Carole King
attytheresa's review against another edition
4.0
I was drawn to this book years ago when a chapter or two was excerpted in The New Yorker and I was captivated by the writing, the story and the narrative voice. After finally reading it, my faith in succumbing to purchasing it was more than justified, even though memoirs are not a genre that I read often, especially ones by musicians or celebrities.
Carole King is a great artist from whom great music just flows. Is there anyone in my generation that didn't wear out the LP/cassette tape of Tapestry? She is also a Jewish girl raised in Brooklyn wanting only to be a wife, mother, and create a beautiful stable family life. That juxtaposition creates an interesting tension at times as you read.
Sometimes wry, other times self deprecating, often funny or brutally painfully honest, her story is the story of women Baby Boomers spanning the traditionalism of the 50s to the independence of the 21st Century. It is in many ways my story though I am 10 years younger, the end of the Baby Boomers, and women like Carole carved the rudimetary path in the wilderness that I widened and smoothed.
It is also the history of songwriting and the rise of the singer/songwriter in contemporary America. If you are at all curious about songwriting process, this book is for you.
King wrote this herself; it is engagingly written. Yet there were times I felt things were glossed over, or there were truths or stories that she shied away from. It is odd to say that when there are some incredibly painful disclosures. Towards the end it dragged. It is a long book - over 500 pages with photos and notes.
But it is still a terrific read. Now I need to download and listen to Tapestry again. It has been a while.
Carole King is a great artist from whom great music just flows. Is there anyone in my generation that didn't wear out the LP/cassette tape of Tapestry? She is also a Jewish girl raised in Brooklyn wanting only to be a wife, mother, and create a beautiful stable family life. That juxtaposition creates an interesting tension at times as you read.
Sometimes wry, other times self deprecating, often funny or brutally painfully honest, her story is the story of women Baby Boomers spanning the traditionalism of the 50s to the independence of the 21st Century. It is in many ways my story though I am 10 years younger, the end of the Baby Boomers, and women like Carole carved the rudimetary path in the wilderness that I widened and smoothed.
It is also the history of songwriting and the rise of the singer/songwriter in contemporary America. If you are at all curious about songwriting process, this book is for you.
King wrote this herself; it is engagingly written. Yet there were times I felt things were glossed over, or there were truths or stories that she shied away from. It is odd to say that when there are some incredibly painful disclosures. Towards the end it dragged. It is a long book - over 500 pages with photos and notes.
But it is still a terrific read. Now I need to download and listen to Tapestry again. It has been a while.
jwells's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This is a long book (450 pages) but it goes quickly. Carole is good company. I especially enjoyed reading about the recording of Tapestry, trying to get some time on the good piano in Joni Mitchell's studio, during the hours she wasn't recording Blue. <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Drug abuse and Addiction
kristaallysa's review
3.0
In A Natural Woman, Carole King tells the story of her life from growing up in Brooklyn to composing music for other artists to performing her own work in what would be an illustrious musical career.
I read this book in preparation for going to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It was great to hear about Carole King's life from Carole King herself. The musical really only covers the time in her life at the beginning of her career when she was married to her first husband, Gerry Goffin. This book goes so much further, sharing stories from every stage of her life and how they helped shape her into the woman and musician she is today.
It was a good read, but overall the book and the stories within felt tempered. When I pick up a celebrity memoir, I expect honest and relatable recollections. This wasn't that. It felt like she was trying to just be nice about everyone and everything, so that no one could get offended or in trouble for anything she wrote. As a result, the whole thing felt a little sugar coated and not quite as relatable as I might have expected.
Additionally, I listened to the audiobook and was disappointed that she didn't include sound clips of the various songs she mentioned throughout the book. As someone who is not super familiar with Carole King's repertoire, I didn't necessarily know the songs she was referencing. It would have added so much to hear them (or a clip of them) as part of the reading experience.
I read this book in preparation for going to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It was great to hear about Carole King's life from Carole King herself. The musical really only covers the time in her life at the beginning of her career when she was married to her first husband, Gerry Goffin. This book goes so much further, sharing stories from every stage of her life and how they helped shape her into the woman and musician she is today.
It was a good read, but overall the book and the stories within felt tempered. When I pick up a celebrity memoir, I expect honest and relatable recollections. This wasn't that. It felt like she was trying to just be nice about everyone and everything, so that no one could get offended or in trouble for anything she wrote. As a result, the whole thing felt a little sugar coated and not quite as relatable as I might have expected.
Additionally, I listened to the audiobook and was disappointed that she didn't include sound clips of the various songs she mentioned throughout the book. As someone who is not super familiar with Carole King's repertoire, I didn't necessarily know the songs she was referencing. It would have added so much to hear them (or a clip of them) as part of the reading experience.
cassidy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
<3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse