A review by bunnieslikediamonds
Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict by Peggy Guggenheim
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.