hpuphd's review against another edition
4.0
A spoiler, I guess, if such a thing is possible with the famous life of Marilyn Monroe: Chapter 11 (of 17) is the key of this compelling biography. That is where Marilyn has her fully-realized moment in her life, where she tragically thinks that her recent marriage to Arthur Miller will afford her what she wants most: respect as something more than a sexual or celebrity commodity. She is about to make The Prince and the Showgirl in London with Laurence Olivier. During this period (another spoiler), she finds Miller’s diary, where she secretly reads his grave reservations about the marriage, and then the collaboration with Olivier, who takes her insecurities as arrogance and rudeness, sours into a double disappointment. The whole book is mostly about the Monroe-Miller marriage, and the playwright does not come off well. Barbara Leaming, a former theater/film professor who went into writing biographies full-time, makes a convincing case that Miller, except for Death of a Salesman, is more celebrated than substantial as a writer. This surprises. (Jeffrey Meyers’s 2010 book about the marriage, The Genius and the Goddess, is also harsh at times on Miller, but Meyers defends The Misfits and After the Fall as Miller’s most underrated works.)
heathen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
bobbert's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright and detailed; I appreciated the amount of primary sources used to construct the narrative. However, the book did get draggy at times, and was rather distant to Marilyn herself. Moreover, the parts following her death weren’t as poignant as other biographies I’d read... Regardless, I’m grateful I read it; Marilyn Monroe has been an elusive figure to me thus far, and this humanized her a bit.
sydneyzahradka's review against another edition
not going to rate this book - i think it genuinely attempts to create a more rounded and human portrayal of marilyn, and i also think its heart is in the right place. however, i think it leans a lot on dr. greenson and the strasbergs, who i don't believe to be the most credible sources w/r/t marilyn in light of everything. it also takes the very definite stance of suicide - which i strongly disagree with - but more than that, it also really glosses over that time in marilyn's life, among others. i don't think it completely succeeds in what it wanted to do, mostly through the fault of the sources the author leans on, but i did find all the studio information interesting. i also genuinely love how bad arthur miller comes across in this book - fuck that man!
i would love for a person like marilyn to get the red comet treatment - she is deserving of a thoroughly researched and fact checked book. this one was entertaining, but not it.
i would love for a person like marilyn to get the red comet treatment - she is deserving of a thoroughly researched and fact checked book. this one was entertaining, but not it.
matritense's review against another edition
2.0
The title of this book is ironic, as it's not so much about MM but about the people that surrounded her. It's very well documented on all her legal issues with 20th, so it gets pretty boring. It's a view of MM the product, not the person.
ljbentley27's review against another edition
3.0
I never knew an awful lot about Marilyn Monroe. I knew she was an iconic actress and that she had been married to Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio. I knew that it had been rumoured that she had had an affair with JFK but all this stuff is the generic facts that most people know. Once I had read Barbara Leaming’s book I knew so much more.
What I really loved about this book was that Leaming didn’t glorify Monroe. She discussed matters of Monroe’s life in an in-depth but sensitive way. She had a knack of showing Monroe, warts and all, without making your perceptions of Monroe too altered yet giving you an extra dimension to consider.
It isn’t just the story of Marilyn Monroe. It is the story of film making and Monroe as one of the first cluster of women who tried to break through the glass ceiling of an industry long considered a boys club.
Marilyn Monroe is a fascinating read.
Marilyn Monroe by Barbara Leaming is available now.
What I really loved about this book was that Leaming didn’t glorify Monroe. She discussed matters of Monroe’s life in an in-depth but sensitive way. She had a knack of showing Monroe, warts and all, without making your perceptions of Monroe too altered yet giving you an extra dimension to consider.
It isn’t just the story of Marilyn Monroe. It is the story of film making and Monroe as one of the first cluster of women who tried to break through the glass ceiling of an industry long considered a boys club.
Marilyn Monroe is a fascinating read.
Marilyn Monroe by Barbara Leaming is available now.
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