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A review by ikabonifacio
My Story by Marilyn Monroe
3.0
"Because I want to be an artist," I answered, "not an erotic freak."
___
The separation of Norma Jean, the unwanted orphan girl, and Marilyn Monroe, the glamorous Hollywood star, forms the crux of this autobiography. As she tells of her childhood and her stardom, Marilyn comes across as a deeply-feeling misfit despite her towering reputation as a sex symbol in the public eye.
Aside from her personal sorrows and struggles, the book also gives insight to old Hollywood's high society — including its reluctance to associate Marilyn with reading Lincoln Steffens, the "wolves" that would offer to pay out for sex, and the scandals surrounding married men. While she navigated this world as the charming Monroe, inside she was still acting for Norma Jean.
I've picked up this book to learn about the person behind her dramatized character; and I see a female artist limited by her time's rampant sexism.
"Even when you died,
Oh, the press still hounded you,
All the papers had to say,
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude."
- Elton John, Candle in the Wind
___
The separation of Norma Jean, the unwanted orphan girl, and Marilyn Monroe, the glamorous Hollywood star, forms the crux of this autobiography. As she tells of her childhood and her stardom, Marilyn comes across as a deeply-feeling misfit despite her towering reputation as a sex symbol in the public eye.
Aside from her personal sorrows and struggles, the book also gives insight to old Hollywood's high society — including its reluctance to associate Marilyn with reading Lincoln Steffens, the "wolves" that would offer to pay out for sex, and the scandals surrounding married men. While she navigated this world as the charming Monroe, inside she was still acting for Norma Jean.
I've picked up this book to learn about the person behind her dramatized character; and I see a female artist limited by her time's rampant sexism.
"Even when you died,
Oh, the press still hounded you,
All the papers had to say,
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude."
- Elton John, Candle in the Wind