Scan barcode
A review by attytheresa
A Natural Woman: A Memoir by Carole King
4.0
I was drawn to this book years ago when a chapter or two was excerpted in The New Yorker and I was captivated by the writing, the story and the narrative voice. After finally reading it, my faith in succumbing to purchasing it was more than justified, even though memoirs are not a genre that I read often, especially ones by musicians or celebrities.
Carole King is a great artist from whom great music just flows. Is there anyone in my generation that didn't wear out the LP/cassette tape of Tapestry? She is also a Jewish girl raised in Brooklyn wanting only to be a wife, mother, and create a beautiful stable family life. That juxtaposition creates an interesting tension at times as you read.
Sometimes wry, other times self deprecating, often funny or brutally painfully honest, her story is the story of women Baby Boomers spanning the traditionalism of the 50s to the independence of the 21st Century. It is in many ways my story though I am 10 years younger, the end of the Baby Boomers, and women like Carole carved the rudimetary path in the wilderness that I widened and smoothed.
It is also the history of songwriting and the rise of the singer/songwriter in contemporary America. If you are at all curious about songwriting process, this book is for you.
King wrote this herself; it is engagingly written. Yet there were times I felt things were glossed over, or there were truths or stories that she shied away from. It is odd to say that when there are some incredibly painful disclosures. Towards the end it dragged. It is a long book - over 500 pages with photos and notes.
But it is still a terrific read. Now I need to download and listen to Tapestry again. It has been a while.
Carole King is a great artist from whom great music just flows. Is there anyone in my generation that didn't wear out the LP/cassette tape of Tapestry? She is also a Jewish girl raised in Brooklyn wanting only to be a wife, mother, and create a beautiful stable family life. That juxtaposition creates an interesting tension at times as you read.
Sometimes wry, other times self deprecating, often funny or brutally painfully honest, her story is the story of women Baby Boomers spanning the traditionalism of the 50s to the independence of the 21st Century. It is in many ways my story though I am 10 years younger, the end of the Baby Boomers, and women like Carole carved the rudimetary path in the wilderness that I widened and smoothed.
It is also the history of songwriting and the rise of the singer/songwriter in contemporary America. If you are at all curious about songwriting process, this book is for you.
King wrote this herself; it is engagingly written. Yet there were times I felt things were glossed over, or there were truths or stories that she shied away from. It is odd to say that when there are some incredibly painful disclosures. Towards the end it dragged. It is a long book - over 500 pages with photos and notes.
But it is still a terrific read. Now I need to download and listen to Tapestry again. It has been a while.