Scan barcode
A review by jenbsbooks
Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews Edwards
4.25
I found this at a thrift shop and picked it up for my Little Free Library, and I decided I'd give it a read first. Being a fan of Julie Andrews, and challenging myself to Nonfiction November, this shifted up my TBR. Per usual, I went ahead and borrowed the book in audio and Kindle copy from my local library, and went almost exclusively with the audio. Narrated by Julie Andrews herself, as needs must!
I always felt like I "knew" Julie Andrews ... but really, it was quite superficial. Here, we get a detailed history of her childhood, and early years on the stage. There is a second book (which I also have in physical format and plan on getting the audiobook to) HomeWork to continue on (this one ends right as she's committed to Mary Poppins, but hasn't started it yet).
Julie Andrews was a child during WW2, and I'd never thought to imagine that childhood. There were certainly family issues (parents divorced, Andrews is her step-father's name, turns out her biological father is a 3rd man). Her early years as her talent was discovered. LOTS of recognizable names as she came in contact with so many people over the years. I think I was aware of her stage work (Cinderella, My Fair Lady, Camelot). SO interesting as these were just being written, not the iconic musicals we know them as now.
Just basic chronological chapters (49 of them). This stayed simple/chronological, simple 1st person/past tense. A few memoirs I've read played with a present tense/in the moment(future) then shifted to past memories. I think I preferred this straightforward approach. One does wonder about the memory of everything, but Julie does refer to her journals at one point, including a small excerpt. I keep journals and refer back to them to jog my memory of events, so I'm betting that played a part here. Her life does seem very memorable!
I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much reading it on my own - I loved having Julie telling the story, hearing her voice. I didn't love the little musical/piano interludes between some chapters, but I DID like the small clips (there weren't many) of her singing.
I really enjoyed this, very easy to listen to and I feel like I learned a lot.
Words I note: bucolic, ablutions, rifled, cacophony, dais, Carnegie(Hall - regular pronunciation)
I always felt like I "knew" Julie Andrews ... but really, it was quite superficial. Here, we get a detailed history of her childhood, and early years on the stage. There is a second book (which I also have in physical format and plan on getting the audiobook to) HomeWork to continue on (this one ends right as she's committed to Mary Poppins, but hasn't started it yet).
Julie Andrews was a child during WW2, and I'd never thought to imagine that childhood. There were certainly family issues (parents divorced, Andrews is her step-father's name, turns out her biological father is a 3rd man). Her early years as her talent was discovered. LOTS of recognizable names as she came in contact with so many people over the years. I think I was aware of her stage work (Cinderella, My Fair Lady, Camelot). SO interesting as these were just being written, not the iconic musicals we know them as now.
Just basic chronological chapters (49 of them). This stayed simple/chronological, simple 1st person/past tense. A few memoirs I've read played with a present tense/in the moment(future) then shifted to past memories. I think I preferred this straightforward approach. One does wonder about the memory of everything, but Julie does refer to her journals at one point, including a small excerpt. I keep journals and refer back to them to jog my memory of events, so I'm betting that played a part here. Her life does seem very memorable!
I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much reading it on my own - I loved having Julie telling the story, hearing her voice. I didn't love the little musical/piano interludes between some chapters, but I DID like the small clips (there weren't many) of her singing.
I really enjoyed this, very easy to listen to and I feel like I learned a lot.
Words I note: bucolic, ablutions, rifled, cacophony, dais, Carnegie(Hall - regular pronunciation)