A review by happilywilted
The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando by William J. Mann

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

At first, this was a jarring read, because after learning about Brando in depth, I was often confronted with the knowledge that he would’ve been intolerable to be around; but at the end he grew on me. I actually felt kind of bad because of the treatment he often got from the media and struggling to find happiness and peace. 

Most of the time, he was cocky and the book seemed to use his past trauma to excuse his crappy behavior. But, ultimately this book is not making assumptions about him and just laying the facts on why he acted a certain way. 

Prior to this book, I was a huge fan of Marlon, which I still am, but now I’m well aware that he would’ve been annoyed at the idea of himself being someone I’m a fan of. Most of the time, he was described as being irritated at fans, which was also jarring. 

Nevertheless, this was a good read. Sometimes, the pages didn’t fly, but it kept me interested and was a fascinating read on a complex figure who is often misread or misunderstood.