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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Really interesting look at the lives of Alice b. toklas and Gertrude Stein. I enjoyed it and learned a lot. I had read A Moveable Feast by Hemmingway a few months prior and the two fit together very nicely.
Malcolm investigates the lives of Stein and Toklas and discusses some of Stein's impenetrable writing. Stein remains a significant, even legendary literary figure associated with the rise of modernism in art and literature. The mystery in my mind has always been--why? Malcolm describes her as a sexy, happy, self-proclaimed genius who naturally attracts followers. Stein learned early on that she was not creative, meaning that she could not create characters or conversations for the literature she sought to write, so instead she collected people in order to write about them. During the French Occupation, she and Toklas were protected by a collaborator. Stein hides as much as she admits (in inscrutable prose) and the truth of who she and Toklas were remains obscure, with Malcolm particularly interested in learning of their sense of identity as Jews.
Regardless as to its difficulty, Malcolm finds Stein worthy of the critical attention surrounding her work and, in fact, presents the case made by a trio of Stein scholars that Stein deserves a place in the academic canon. The final section of the book is devoted to Alice B. Toklas after Stein's death, a sad case of a spouse left penurious upon widowhood, despite a relationship that spanned decades and Stein's stated intention in her will that Toklas should be able to sell paintings should she need to do so to maintain herself.
A fascinating glimpse into the lives of two unique historical characters, Malcolm draws from all available sources to expose facets and contradictions to the characters of both women that make them more accessible, less monumental, in their depiction. This is a most welcome accomplishment. Thus fortified, it's time for me to seek out Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, to see another portrayal of the two.
Regardless as to its difficulty, Malcolm finds Stein worthy of the critical attention surrounding her work and, in fact, presents the case made by a trio of Stein scholars that Stein deserves a place in the academic canon. The final section of the book is devoted to Alice B. Toklas after Stein's death, a sad case of a spouse left penurious upon widowhood, despite a relationship that spanned decades and Stein's stated intention in her will that Toklas should be able to sell paintings should she need to do so to maintain herself.
A fascinating glimpse into the lives of two unique historical characters, Malcolm draws from all available sources to expose facets and contradictions to the characters of both women that make them more accessible, less monumental, in their depiction. This is a most welcome accomplishment. Thus fortified, it's time for me to seek out Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, to see another portrayal of the two.