I've been s.l.o.w.l.y. working through a fantastic little autobiography by Patti Smith, best known for singing "Because the Night", for the past month and I haven't written a single post about it! It's called Just Kids.
The length of time it is taking me is absolutely not because it is lengthy, wordy, or in any other way difficult to get through. I simply have been reading it for five to ten minutes at a time, once or twice a week. But this book is fantastic in that it's easy to pick up and put down without missing or forgetting anything. It's not complicated or dense. It's simple and honest. And I happen to be loving it.
It's a romance story set in New York City at the end of the 60's. Smith has decided to forgo college and leave home, penniless, to establish herself as an artist. How beautifully bohemian! She meets Robert, her first love and fellow artist, and they create together, refusing to settle for anything but an artistic life.
Now, this probably sounds like an artsy-fartsy, hippie-dippy, unpractical story by modern standards. But I've gotten caught up in the romantic web that Smith spins as an author. And it helps that I've had my own secret romance with novels, movies, and stories about youth counter-culture and rock and roll in the late 60s / early 70s since I saw the movie Almost Famous at the age of 15. (I have several recommendations if anyone is interested!). So, I'll admit, Smith probably wouldn't have to do much as a writer to grab my interest. But, with as little bias as possible, I believe she does a fantastic job of writing and describing the confusion, love, ups, and downs it takes to find oneself as a young adult.
OK, now I've dished about my secret literary passion. What are some of the literary passions or genres that you other madwomen can't resist?
Miss. H.
Is it a female Catcher in the Rye situation, or Go Ask Alice, or what?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun read - I may have to check it out.
Did you see The Runaways? Aside from Kristin Stewart (can't think of her as anyone but Bella Swan) you might kind of like it.
So funny that you bring up secret literary passions...that was the topic we presented on at our conference in November. My next post was going to be on that very topic - how did you know??? On that note, I'll leave you in suspense as to my literary passion(s) until next week!
Bon soir!