Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Edie: American Girl
Book Review: Glamorous, Fabulous, and Pathetic
Summary: 5 Stars
Edie Sedgwick was one of the hottest media events of the mid 1960's, a burning star enjoying the newest kind of fame - celebrity, i.e., being well-known for doing nothing except existing. Like so many of her generation, Miss Sedgwick crashed and burned (literally) at the end of the 1960's, dying of a barbituate overdose at the ripe old age of 28, after a series of well-publicized drug freakouts, accidents, and "rest cures" in mental hospitals. As other reviewers have noted, the conceit of telling Sedgwick's story through interviews with those who knew her is brilliant, producing a riveting narrative exposing to public view the inner workings of the many worlds in which Sedgwick moved - high-society, art, California biker, and East Village drug addict. Ultimately, Sedgwick impresses the reader as a force of nature, incredibly charismatic and compelling to those around her. Sadly, her glamour was not enough to save her from herself. What emerges from this book is a disturbing portrait of a world obsessed with money, fame, fashion and "fabulousness." As far as I could tell, this "glamourous" lifestyle seemed to consist chiefly of dressing foolishly, ingesting enormous quantities of drugs, copulating with anyone who showed an interest (of either sex), and living in a dreamworld of eternal youth and unending fame. Despite the vivid recollections of the interviewees, Sedgwick's life and "career" have left very few traces. Her death certificate described her as an "actress," but what Sedgwick "performances" can you think of today? She broke all the rules, but ultimately accomplished little. Not only was Sedgwick self-destructive and superficial, so was everyone else around her. The book is a stunning chronicle of an impatient era and a self-absorbed society convinced that the world belonged to it alone and that the party would never end. "Edie" is the perfect epitaph to the 1960's, a decade which "trumpeted fulfillment but achieved only confusion." (C. Paglia, 1991)Book Review: Good
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though you read bad things about how Jean Stein put this book together in Warhol's DIARIES, that doesn't cancel out that it is a rivetting book. Edie was sort of vacuous, but nonetheless interesting in her recklessnes. Although she is surprisingly articulate in her oral passages. More than you would expect after reading about her. This frankly, I don't think, is an inherently interesting story, so Plimpton and Stein are to be commended for the way they put this oral history together. Hollywood has been talking ever since this book was published of making it into a movie, but it hasn't happened yet. I'd like to see it!Book Review: Haven't read it all yet...
Summary: 4 Stars
But so far it's very interesting. It's well written, though the style took a while to get used to, and I spent a lot of time flipping to the family tree at the back of the book, as it was confusing when all these new names started using direct reference terms like "Father", "Cousin", etc.
The first couple chapters were a hard read, but at about chapter 7 it pulls you in, and I've been reading 2 chapters a night since I reached that point.
Book Review: Interesting
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is interesting. It is a little hard to follow because of the way it is written and some of the pictures are a little vulgar but I guess that sums up Edie. It is worth a read for anyone interested in this poor girl. There is something so so sad but so fabulous about her.Book Review: It's like reading about a dream and a nightmare
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not the 'artsy' type but I found myself watching Basquiat one night. That -and listening to the Velvet Underground a few times got me interested in Andy Warhol a bit. So I looked him up on yahoo and lo and behold, the most beautiful faces kept appearing on screen. It was none other than Edie Sedgwick. I figured she must have frequented the "Factory" of Andy's but still earned a lot of money as a top fashion model, a-la Twiggy.I read the reviews here, though and heard a much different life story. When I finally got and read the book, i realized how lost this girl was. The drugs, the sex, the shopaholism,even pyromania!
Still-at the same time-she was such a strong character that right until the end, she was still influencing people and going through a lifestyle that she never could've gotten away with today.
Despite her tragedy, her legacy is still there, and still ripe for the picking, so to speak. She still remains my fashion muse...Edie has inspired me to get into the fashion scene in some kind of way. Also, her sense of style-the chandelier earings, falsies, and that amazing hair- is UNMATCHED.
I thank her for all that she influenced upon me and other girls that simply cannot be put into words.