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2.98 AVERAGE
2.98 AVERAGE
Perhaps my standards are too high, but when I read a book called "The Secrets of My Life," I expect there to be... well, secrets being revealed. New information. Something worth my time.
But nothing such appears in "The Secrets of My Life," the memoir of Olympian-athlete-turned-reality-"star" Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner. Despite supposedly covering Jenner's entire lifetime, it focuses on exactly one aspect of said life -- that she is transgender, and that she always has been, and this has caused her a lot of turmoil and unhappiness over the years. All other aspects of life -- children, marriages, other experiences -- are treated as secondary appendages.
Jenner's story is told in a non-chronological order -- half is in the present, where she has to repeatedly debut her new female identity; and half is the sixty-plus years that led up to this point. Born as a boy in New York, Bruce was raised in a conservative fifties town where the thought of being LGBT was shocking, and the idea of being transgender was almost unheard of. And so he threw himself into the world of sports, ultimately winning a gold medal for the decathlon in 1974.
Also along for the ride -- three wives and a gaggle of children, including reptilian reality-TV matriarch Kris Jenner and her coven of daughters. But as Jenner struggled as the beleaguered sitcom dad on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," it became obvious that he could no longer hide who he really was -- a woman named Caitlyn. Who would, of course, receive massive worldwide press, and become the face of the trans community (who really deserve better).
The biggest problem about "The Secret of My Life" is that there aren't really any secrets here -- there's not even much in the way of biographical material, as Jenner skims over most parts of her life that don't involve gender dysphoria. You never get the feeling that ANYTHING in the life of a thrice-married Olympian was really very interesting or important; the only parts to get any loving detail are after she comes out as transgender and gets surgery, goes on road trips and gets a new wardrobe.
And while this story should feel inspiring.... it really doesn't. Instead, it feels vaguely narcissistic as Jenner floats through a whole lifetime focused almost exclusively on herself. It's hard to tell anything about her many kids or three ex-wives, for instance, because so little attention is paid to them. Certainly that's true of Jenner's first two, lesser-known wives and their offspring, who come across as being distractions along the way.
Instead, Jenner seems more focused on letting us know what a wonderful person she is, and how those selfish or uncaring things are TOTALLY not what she's like. But the selfishness slips out of the cracks when she's not looking (when the first ex-wife Chrystie had a child that Jenner suggested she abort, Jenner isn't upset because she wasn't there for her daughter's birth... but because it's a blow to her self-image as a good guy). It's this self-absorption that makes "Secrets of My Life" so staggeringly BORING -- there's nothing but a breezy navel-gazing safari trip through Jenner's life, with no focus on anyone else unless they're lavishing all praise on her.
Some parts of the book are striking and interesting (going back to her alma mater as a woman), but it also highlights that Jenner hasn't suffered any kind of blowback or misfortune as a result of transitioning. Instead, she occasionally launches into defensive political rants, or laments that it's SO awful that she was constantly being hounded by the paparazzi as she was transitioning (including the infamous accident where a woman died).
"The Secrets of My Life" contains neither secrets nor much of a life -- it's a tedious, self-indulgent slog that isn't detailed enough to be a biography, and is too self-centered to be very inspiring. There are better stories of trans success out there.
But nothing such appears in "The Secrets of My Life," the memoir of Olympian-athlete-turned-reality-"star" Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner. Despite supposedly covering Jenner's entire lifetime, it focuses on exactly one aspect of said life -- that she is transgender, and that she always has been, and this has caused her a lot of turmoil and unhappiness over the years. All other aspects of life -- children, marriages, other experiences -- are treated as secondary appendages.
Jenner's story is told in a non-chronological order -- half is in the present, where she has to repeatedly debut her new female identity; and half is the sixty-plus years that led up to this point. Born as a boy in New York, Bruce was raised in a conservative fifties town where the thought of being LGBT was shocking, and the idea of being transgender was almost unheard of. And so he threw himself into the world of sports, ultimately winning a gold medal for the decathlon in 1974.
Also along for the ride -- three wives and a gaggle of children, including reptilian reality-TV matriarch Kris Jenner and her coven of daughters. But as Jenner struggled as the beleaguered sitcom dad on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," it became obvious that he could no longer hide who he really was -- a woman named Caitlyn. Who would, of course, receive massive worldwide press, and become the face of the trans community (who really deserve better).
The biggest problem about "The Secret of My Life" is that there aren't really any secrets here -- there's not even much in the way of biographical material, as Jenner skims over most parts of her life that don't involve gender dysphoria. You never get the feeling that ANYTHING in the life of a thrice-married Olympian was really very interesting or important; the only parts to get any loving detail are after she comes out as transgender and gets surgery, goes on road trips and gets a new wardrobe.
And while this story should feel inspiring.... it really doesn't. Instead, it feels vaguely narcissistic as Jenner floats through a whole lifetime focused almost exclusively on herself. It's hard to tell anything about her many kids or three ex-wives, for instance, because so little attention is paid to them. Certainly that's true of Jenner's first two, lesser-known wives and their offspring, who come across as being distractions along the way.
Instead, Jenner seems more focused on letting us know what a wonderful person she is, and how those selfish or uncaring things are TOTALLY not what she's like. But the selfishness slips out of the cracks when she's not looking (when the first ex-wife Chrystie had a child that Jenner suggested she abort, Jenner isn't upset because she wasn't there for her daughter's birth... but because it's a blow to her self-image as a good guy). It's this self-absorption that makes "Secrets of My Life" so staggeringly BORING -- there's nothing but a breezy navel-gazing safari trip through Jenner's life, with no focus on anyone else unless they're lavishing all praise on her.
Some parts of the book are striking and interesting (going back to her alma mater as a woman), but it also highlights that Jenner hasn't suffered any kind of blowback or misfortune as a result of transitioning. Instead, she occasionally launches into defensive political rants, or laments that it's SO awful that she was constantly being hounded by the paparazzi as she was transitioning (including the infamous accident where a woman died).
"The Secrets of My Life" contains neither secrets nor much of a life -- it's a tedious, self-indulgent slog that isn't detailed enough to be a biography, and is too self-centered to be very inspiring. There are better stories of trans success out there.
I thought this book was interesting. Quick read.
Her er min omtale av Mitt hemmelige liv: https://mineboker.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/mitt-hemmelige-liv-av-caitlyn-jenner/ Linken fører til min bokblogg.
I really thought this would have been more interesting than it was.
DNF @ 40%. Just boring and not interesting at all.
I like Caitlyn. This is a good book. However, it didn't disclose anything really that I didn't already know about her since I've read every article and seen every interview of hers in the last ten years. If you want to know her story and don't already, this is the book for you.
I don't know....I think Caitlyn gets a bad wrap. Would you want to be Caitlyn? Her family has pretty much shunned her - she's in her late 60s and just starting life over...the trans community doesn't seem to want her to be there spokesperson - where does she fit in?
Kanske inte en bok som jag själv skulle ha valt att läsa, men när jag fick den från förlaget så bestämde jag mig för att läsa den, kan vara bra att utmana sig själv ibland. Lättläst och det var riktigt intressant att lära sig mer om transpersoners villkor i USA. Hela recensionen: https://ewelinasbokblogg.blogspot.se/2017/07/mitt-liv-caitlyn-jenners-biografi.html
Meh. Not all that exhilarating. This might make me give up on the "memoir" type book.