A review by kaelino
Kiki de Montparnasse by Catel

3.0

I admire the artwork and the extensive research that I am sure went into the creation of this book. Kiki was a real woman who met many important figures in the art and literary world (example: Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway). However, the end result was, for me, a portrait of a person who was not very endearing. I couldn't root for her as a lot of the things that happened to her or the hardships she endured were because of her own actions and choices. She was a woman who yearned for love, yet her desire to live a "free" life (i.e. with sex, drugs, and alcohol) sabotaged any chance she had for it. Interesting as an examination of the times (1920s-40s) and how gender roles were changing for women but, ultimately, I saw Kiki more as a tragic figure than the hero of her own story. Did not impact me like I hoped it would.