Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by ee_em_em_aye
A Love Letter from a Stray Moon by Jay Griffiths
3.0
I really wanted to like this book - I mean, it's billed as a poetic re-imagining of the life of Frida Kahlo; I expected a dense story with all the passion and intensity of Frida Kahlo herself.
However, having read Frida Kahlo's diary, a book of letters she wrote and others texts - having seen the film Frida and having recently read another take on her story, The Lacuna, I was disappointed.
At times there were glimpses of what I was looking for - in the description of her life during the times painting some of her most famous works (small images of said works at the back/front of the book would have been appreciated) and then again sometimes during the description of her love for Diego/inability to have a child.
However, overall if felt trite. Was the overuse of the word c*nt supposed to describe her passion for Diego or shock the reader? It seemed to be used for shock value and did little for me.
While there were moments of great interest - times when I hoped I'd curl up with the book and read through in one sitting - primarily this was laboured, repetitive and a little 'once over lightly' for my liking.
The problem with writing about someones life is that it's events have been set down already. If you've seen something like the excellent film Frida, then there's really not a lot left to say and for a re-imagining this wasn't very re-imagined.
A Love Letter from a Stray Moon seemed a lot longer than it's 100-odd pages and that wasn't a good thing.
However, having read Frida Kahlo's diary, a book of letters she wrote and others texts - having seen the film Frida and having recently read another take on her story, The Lacuna, I was disappointed.
At times there were glimpses of what I was looking for - in the description of her life during the times painting some of her most famous works (small images of said works at the back/front of the book would have been appreciated) and then again sometimes during the description of her love for Diego/inability to have a child.
However, overall if felt trite. Was the overuse of the word c*nt supposed to describe her passion for Diego or shock the reader? It seemed to be used for shock value and did little for me.
While there were moments of great interest - times when I hoped I'd curl up with the book and read through in one sitting - primarily this was laboured, repetitive and a little 'once over lightly' for my liking.
The problem with writing about someones life is that it's events have been set down already. If you've seen something like the excellent film Frida, then there's really not a lot left to say and for a re-imagining this wasn't very re-imagined.
A Love Letter from a Stray Moon seemed a lot longer than it's 100-odd pages and that wasn't a good thing.