Scan barcode
A review by shivermetimbers
Frida: The Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera
5.0
Frida has been an icon to me for years and this book made me fall even further in love with her! I expected this book to be primarily about the factual events of her life, but this book also contained extensive analysis on dozens of her pieces of art, which I loved. Additionally, it contained numerous letters she sent over the years which made the book feel even more personal. Frida's own words made me cackle constantly and by the end of the book she felt so familiar to me that I wept while reading about her tragic end.
Overall the book was well-written and really well-researched. My one (minor) qualm was that although Herrera did talk about Frida's bisexuality she didn't go into the same depth of analysis with Frida's female partners as she did with Frida's male partners. This is likely because this book was written in the 80s and because the people she interviewed were all rather old at that point and were perhaps not interested in discussing the topic. Annoying but fair! Herrera also used the word "gay" (as in happy) constantly to describe Frida so I feel like that balances the scales.
Overall the book was well-written and really well-researched. My one (minor) qualm was that although Herrera did talk about Frida's bisexuality she didn't go into the same depth of analysis with Frida's female partners as she did with Frida's male partners. This is likely because this book was written in the 80s and because the people she interviewed were all rather old at that point and were perhaps not interested in discussing the topic. Annoying but fair! Herrera also used the word "gay" (as in happy) constantly to describe Frida so I feel like that balances the scales.