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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Actually not written by Holiday, but composed by journalist William Dufty from transcripts of interviews he conducted with her. This brings its own set of interpretative and moral difficulties, but the voice that shines through these pages is strong and clear, and it belongs to someone: it’s easy to imagine Holiday holding forth in a hotel room, Dufty recording and scribbling. Much of the autobiographical material is invented or embellished, but on singing in Jim Crow-era America and as a general set of observations on craft, plus for its glimpse into a lost world of glamour, drugs and celebrity, this is hard to beat.
This was a tough and unpleasant read all-around, due to the repeated traumas Billie survived from a young age, the vicious racism detailed within, and most notably, the disturbing homophobia within its pages, despite Billie Holiday being lauded as an openly bisexual icon today. Perhaps Billie really did view women who love women as perverse and psychologically broken, like some people still unfortunately do today. But it was nauseating, especially when I specifically decided to finally read this book because it was Pride, and I have had Holiday on my mind for the past few months. Maybe the person who left this at the library book sale a few months ago felt the same. Tallulah is mentioned in this book once even, but not in any loving capacity.
Then again, I cannot really say any of the men she had romantic relationships with were mentioned with much real love, either. Except for maybe the last line in the book, but history tells us how all of those relationships went, too.
I think the most important thing this book does and does well, is serve as a historical record of the racism and traumas Eleanora Fagan and her family experienced, which are still relevant today, though they may show themselves differently. It's still much of the same, particularly when it comes to certain topics like African Americans being denied the health-care they need. It was interesting to see how progressive her perspectives on the treatment of addiction, sex work, and childhood abuse were, though this was written from conversations Dufty had with Billie almost 70 years ago.
Then again, I cannot really say any of the men she had romantic relationships with were mentioned with much real love, either. Except for maybe the last line in the book, but history tells us how all of those relationships went, too.
I think the most important thing this book does and does well, is serve as a historical record of the racism and traumas Eleanora Fagan and her family experienced, which are still relevant today, though they may show themselves differently. It's still much of the same, particularly when it comes to certain topics like African Americans being denied the health-care they need. It was interesting to see how progressive her perspectives on the treatment of addiction, sex work, and childhood abuse were, though this was written from conversations Dufty had with Billie almost 70 years ago.
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Interessanter dan wat er in dit boek geschreven staat, is net wat er niet in geschreven staat
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A short autobiography that has such a strong voice. I had no idea Billie Holiday died only a couple of years after this was published.
Billie is very honest about who she is and what she's done, and she never feels the need to hide her feelings about people or situations. She calls people "bitch" a fair amount, and it seems like she wasn't worried about how she'd come across re her drug taking, relationships with married men, etc. It's clear that she hasn't dulled her personality while writing this, either. It's got a colloquial touch that, surprisingly, you don't always get in autobiographies.
It's a little muddled at times, and there are so many names, club names, places mentioned that it's hard to keep track of things. I assume a lot of these names would have been fairly well known if you were a fan of jazz in the 20s-40s, but most of it is background noise now, and Billie offers no explanation for many of the names.
It's a great look into the mind of an icon of the 20th century, and her very colourful life.
Billie is very honest about who she is and what she's done, and she never feels the need to hide her feelings about people or situations. She calls people "bitch" a fair amount, and it seems like she wasn't worried about how she'd come across re her drug taking, relationships with married men, etc. It's clear that she hasn't dulled her personality while writing this, either. It's got a colloquial touch that, surprisingly, you don't always get in autobiographies.
It's a little muddled at times, and there are so many names, club names, places mentioned that it's hard to keep track of things. I assume a lot of these names would have been fairly well known if you were a fan of jazz in the 20s-40s, but most of it is background noise now, and Billie offers no explanation for many of the names.
It's a great look into the mind of an icon of the 20th century, and her very colourful life.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced