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Unraveling Anne (2011)

by Laurel Saville(Favorite Author)

3.2 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

161218085X (ISBN13: 9781612180854)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

AmazonEncore

review 1: I enjoyed this book, maybe because the author's background bears some similarity to mine, and we both seem to feel the need to figure ourselves out. Laurel's mother was a beauty queen, a fashion designer, a member of the Hollywood in crowd of the 60's (she dated Marlon Brando), and a drunk. Laurel does not really begin to understand her mother until after her death, when learning about what made her tick becomes almost obsessive.I identified with Laurel both as a little girl who cleaned up her mother's messes and looked out for the whole family, and as an adult who wanted to understand how a woman who seemingly had it all could go so far astray.Many of the criticisms of this book indicate that it is less about Anne than it is about the author, but to me, that is okay. It ... moreis her quest to understand her mother, and thus better understand herself, that made the book so compelling.
review 2: This memoir sends the story of Anne Ford's life through the prism of her daughter's eyes, but the resulting vision is a littl out of focus.On one hand, I found this a fairly typical memoir of the "harrowing childhood" genre (i.e., see "The Glass Castle" and "Running With Scissors"). Anne Ford's talents were fostered by her seemingly loving, albeit ambitous, parents. She was beautiful, energetic, and had a promissing future as a model, clothing designer and artist. Anne also had the advantage of being where the action was in American history. She lived in NYC during the late 40s and early 50s, dating Marlon Brando, writing for Glamour magazine, and modeling. Then she re-located to LA in the late 50s and early 60s as the modern art scene began to blossom on the west coast. Her LA home was the site of many parties which shifted from bongo drums and capri pants to dope and tie dyed caftans. Anne seemed to be a magnet for the cultural center of America. So how did she end up deranged and semi-homeless, a street person whose life was so chaotic that her murder went unsolved for many years? Answer: Alcohol and mental illness (if one can call narcissism a mental illness). The author does her best to "unravel" her mother's life, but ends up blaming others - Anne is "used and abandoned" by the men in her life; and "set up for failure" by her parents who continue to financially support her (and her children)into her 60s. The author's exploration of her mother's heritage is supposed to make the reader understand the underlying causes of her failures, but, to me, the stories of her grandparents and parents only seemed to underscore the possibility that a person can overcome adversity with some effort. The most revealing section is in the last chapter where the author finally contacts a relative who was Anne's roommate in her NYC days (the fact that this individual was not discovered at the outset of this story begs belief).I stuck with this book because I really liked the author's depiction of herself. I thought she was very perceptive about her own behaviors, and I admired her honesty. Laurel Saville is the main reason to read this book.In any event, if you are the type of reader who LOVED "The Glass Castle," you will probably love this book as well. (I hated "The Glass Castle.") less

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