bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
Whether you'll enjoy Peggy Guggenheim's autobiography or not depends on what you're after. If you want deep insight into her life and reflections on art, you're bound to be disappointed. If you enjoy reading about rich, eccentric bohemians gallivanting around Europe in the first half of the century, forever hunting for summer houses, you're in luck. Guggenheim is not a gifted writer, and some may find her prose off-putting. I found her laconic delivery amusing, intentional or not. Every shocking, shattering thing is presented with the same matter-of-fact tone.
On her childhood:
My childhood was excessively unhappy: I have no pleasant memories of any kind.
On her father drowning on the Titanic:
From then on we avoided the White Star Line like the plague.
On her violent first husband who beat her up regularly:
I was taken by the shoulders and hurled against the wall. I did not in the least relish this treatment because I was pregnant again.
You get the picture. There are also many interesting, awkward and cringeworthy tidbits about famous artists and writers. Hilariously, she mentions that her editor completely rewrote the book (the first one, this is a combination of one published in the sixties and another tracking her later years) so that she had to put everything back the way it was.
She does not come across well. If this is due to lack of self-awareness or not giving a damn, I couldn't tell.
On her childhood:
My childhood was excessively unhappy: I have no pleasant memories of any kind.
On her father drowning on the Titanic:
From then on we avoided the White Star Line like the plague.
On her violent first husband who beat her up regularly:
I was taken by the shoulders and hurled against the wall. I did not in the least relish this treatment because I was pregnant again.
You get the picture. There are also many interesting, awkward and cringeworthy tidbits about famous artists and writers. Hilariously, she mentions that her editor completely rewrote the book (the first one, this is a combination of one published in the sixties and another tracking her later years) so that she had to put everything back the way it was.
She does not come across well. If this is due to lack of self-awareness or not giving a damn, I couldn't tell.
abaddon287's review against another edition
No self-reflection by the author. Simple language; chronological re-telling of a privileged life.
_dunno_'s review against another edition
4.0
Being in the proximity of Modernism feels like a backstage pass to your favourite band's gig. Which is kind of awesome.
I was quite intrigued by Peggy's life and choice of men, but I eventually arrived at the conclusion that one mustn't say too much about other people's memoirs and definitely mustn't judge based on their own value system. So there you are: if you're into Cubism, Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism, give it a try and don't be too harsh on her.
I was quite intrigued by Peggy's life and choice of men, but I eventually arrived at the conclusion that one mustn't say too much about other people's memoirs and definitely mustn't judge based on their own value system. So there you are: if you're into Cubism, Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism, give it a try and don't be too harsh on her.
kecordell's review
2.0
This book poorly wrote about an interesting topic. Guggenheim's life was probably fascinating, but her lack of explanation and disjointed chapters prevented the story from flowing in a readable way. The pictures throughout the book were placed with no regard to what was happening in the story, and the black-and-white images did not lend themselves to the colors described throughout her life.
emma_ireland's review against another edition
5.0
Great literature it's not, but for the pleasure it gave me, five stars. Because that's what it's all about in the end.
i_am_still_bb's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I lament that she felt that she had to focus on modern art rather than all of the arts that interested her. The linear time line is a bit difficult to follow as she finished up all of her relationship with Pollock in one go and then continuing with her story. The only bad thing I have to say about the book is that there weren't any pictures. There were pictures of her and her friends, but, for a book so focused on art and artworks, there were no pictures of her favorite artworks. Often she would only mention the artist and give a description of the piece, but not the piece's title making it impossible to look up.
ladyvictoriadiana's review against another edition
4.0
Das Buch war spannend zu lesen und der Schreibtstil war ansprechend, wenn auch nicht brilliant oder konventionell. Die Beschreibung ihres Lebens durch die Autorin war sehr interessant und meiner Meinung nach zeigte sie die Attitüde einer reichen Erbin des letzten Jahrhunderts sehr gut - ihr fehlender Respekt für Geld war beinah schockierend. Viele der Dinge in diesem Buch waren allerdings nicht so schockierend wie der Rückseitentexts des Buches behauptet. Das liegt wahrscheinlich an den unterschiedlichen Moralvorstellungen, die eine liberale Frau des 21. Jahrhunderts und die Herausbringer des Buches hatten. Guggenheim hat einige Affären und einige Beziehungen mit Männern ohne Eheschließung, aber nichts zu skandalöses aus heutiger Sicht. Eine anderer Apekt des Buches, der mir nicht ganz so gut gefallen hat, waren die vielen Erwähnungen moderner Künstler - da ich mich persönlich nicht besonders für moderne Kunst interessiere, konnte ich die meisten der Namen nicht zuordnen, was ihr häufiges Auftauchen etwas sinnlos machte. Aber da das Buch dennoch unterhaltsam war, fand ich diesen Aspekt nicht zu störend und zudem kann Guggenheim auch gut erklären, um wen es sich jeweils handelt. Insgesamt ein sehr interessantes Buch, dass die Geschichte einer Ära erzählt (aus der Sicht einer reichen Frau).
The book was quite fun to read and the writing style very engaging, if not brilliant or conventional. The author's description of her life was very interesting and I feel like she showcased the attitude of a rich heiress of the last century quite well - her disregard for money was almost shocking to read about. Most of the other things, however, were not quite as shocking as the book's blurb suggested. This is presumably because of the different ideas of morals between a liberal 21st-century girl and the book's publishers. Guggenheim has a few affairs and a few relationships with men while not married to them, but nothing too scandalous. Another thing that sort of left me a bit "meh" was the many mentions of modern artists - I am just not into modern art, so I did not recognize a lot of the names, which sort of took a lot of the magic out of the name-drops. But the book was still engaging, so I did not mind and Guggenheim also explained the "who's who" very well. Overall, an interesting book that paints the picture of an era (from the pov of a rich woman ofc).
The book was quite fun to read and the writing style very engaging, if not brilliant or conventional. The author's description of her life was very interesting and I feel like she showcased the attitude of a rich heiress of the last century quite well - her disregard for money was almost shocking to read about. Most of the other things, however, were not quite as shocking as the book's blurb suggested. This is presumably because of the different ideas of morals between a liberal 21st-century girl and the book's publishers. Guggenheim has a few affairs and a few relationships with men while not married to them, but nothing too scandalous. Another thing that sort of left me a bit "meh" was the many mentions of modern artists - I am just not into modern art, so I did not recognize a lot of the names, which sort of took a lot of the magic out of the name-drops. But the book was still engaging, so I did not mind and Guggenheim also explained the "who's who" very well. Overall, an interesting book that paints the picture of an era (from the pov of a rich woman ofc).