Just Kids
Category: Books,Biographies & Memoirs,Arts & Literature
Just Kids Details
Review “[Just Kids] reminds us that innocence, utopian ideals, beauty and revolt are enlightenment’s guiding stars in the human journey. Her book recalls, without blinking or faltering, a collective memory ― one that guides us through the present and into the future.” (Michael Stipe, Time magazine)“Reading rocker Smith’s account of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, it’s hard not to believe in fate. How else to explain the chance encounter that threw them together, allowing both to blossom? Quirky and spellbinding.” (People, Top 10 Books of 2010)“The most enchantingly evocative memoir of funky-but-chic New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s that any alumnus has yet committed to print.” (Janet Maslin's top 10 books of 2010, New York Times)“Composed of incandescent sentences more revelatory than anything from Patti Smith’s poems or songs, her romantic memoir also reveals what blunt narrative instruments the earlier career bios of her and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe have been.” (Village Voice, Best Books of 2010 Round-Up)“Smith’s beautifully crafted love letter to her friend Robert Mapplethorpe functions as a memento mori of a relationship fueled by passion for art and writing. Her elegant eulogy lays bare the chaos and the creativity so embedded in that earlier time and in Mapplethorpe’s life and work.” (Publishers Weekly, Top Ten Books of the Year)“Poetically written and vividly remembered. [Smith] reminded me of the idealism of art.” (Matthew Weiner, creator of MAD MEN, in New York magazine)“A spellbinding portrait of bohemian New York in the late 1960s and early ‘70s.” (New York Times Book Review, Paperback Row)“One of the best things I’ve ever read in my life.” (Don Imus)“Sometimes there is justice in the world. That was my first thought when I heard that Patti Smith had won the National Book Award this fall for her glorious memoir, Just Kids.” (Maureen Corrigan's favorite books of 2010, NPR's Fresh Air)“[JUST KIDS] offers a revealing account of the fears and insecurities harbored by even the most incendiary artists, as well as their capacity for reverence and tenderness.” (USA Today) Read more From the Back Cover It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation.Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max's Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous—the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists' ascent, a prelude to fame. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
I didn't even know who Patti Smith was. I know I got her confused with Patty Smyth. I definitely didn't know who Robert Maplethorpe was. Turns out, I did know who Patti Smith was, but I had to google "Patti Smith most popular song' and got "Because the Night" and it was all clear.The point is, this book was on my radar because I'd heard great things about the book, not because I knew who anybody was. What a tale! I'm not even sure something like this could ever happen again. It was the late '60's early '70's (my favorite time period musically, incidentally) and Patti was a literal starving artist on the streets of New York. No job, no direction, no place to live. A creative being wanting to create but not knowing how it should manifest.She meets Robert Maplethorpe and they embark on a lifelong friendship/love affair. They lived in the time and place of Jimi, Janis, and Andy Warhol. Just Kids, literally starving. It was a great adventure.Patti was lucky enough to have a couple breaks musically, and Robert not long behind her with his art. I can't say I'm a fan of either of their work. I looked at Robert's art after reading the book and thought no wonder he struggled.I thought a lot about making a living, and what artists have to do to survive. These tortured people who literally must create, have to get day jobs at bookstores. Barely scraping enough money together to share a hot dog with a friend. It's sad. Behind every Jimi there are thousands of other Jimis.Anyway, I was engrossed in this tale of friendship and life in the summer of love and beyond. The audio was read by Patti and that itself was an experience. Beautifully written passages spoken in a strong New Jersey accent. Drawing was Drawling. Piano was piana. Laughing was laughin'. Sunday was Sundee. It was a little weird at first, but ultimately gave an intimacy to the story. Her story. I couldn't put it down, and I sobbed at the end.This would be a great audio for people who don't normally do audio because if you wander off it's easy to find your way back in. Loved it!
