Then Again

Mar 07, 2013 J.H. Gordon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow, I was surprised by the tone of this memoir. I have always admired Diane Keaton for her refusal to conform to the Hollywood ideal of female beauty, and I saw her single status as a symbol of her fierce independence. This memoir shattered this illusion: Keaton is insecure, needy, and self-critical. She comes off as a teenage girl, lamenting boyfriends who left her -- Woody Allen, Al Pacino, Warren Beaty. She continually doubts her acting ability, critizes her lack of "prettiness" and "beauty"...more

12 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Roxanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Then Again is a memoir by Diane Keaton. The book confirmed to me that even though she is extremely accomplished in so many ways, and 65 years old, she has little self-esteem and is very self-loathing. I guess my rating reflects a little of my disappointment in her.

I felt a tone of saddness throughout this book. Perhaps it is the process of losing both parents. I experienced something very similar.

Referencing a recent commercial of Keatons, she is portrayed in black and white, very chic clothing,...more

9 likes · like · see review

Roxanne My thoughts on the book stand as I described in my review. You are putting too much emphasis on Annie Hall because I mentioned it. I think she could h...more
Dec 16, 2011 04:41am

MountainShelby I am listening to the CD version--so far I am surprised at how shallow this memoir is . . . and I love Diane Keaton--her eccentric life, style, roles...more
Jan 22, 2012 10:00am

Patrice Now that you mention it, it was shallow. And sad. She was hurting about the loss of her mother and also, I think, reading her mother's diaries hurt he...more
Sep 02, 2012 09:08pm

Jul 25, 2012 Ray Campbell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012

Several years ago I read a memoir by Mia Farrow and for the next several years, felt guilty to be a Woody Allen fan. Eventually I decided it was OK to love the art and not let the artists problems obscure my enjoyment. Eventually, after re-reading all of his prose, another biography and watching Wild Man Blue, I decided I didn’t care if he had a problem. I am a Woody Allen fan. It is refreshing to read Diane Keaton who unabashedly loves him.

The book is a sentimental journey through the family li...more

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 31, 2011 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, memoir

I'm a big fan of Ms. Keaton, so I was really excited to dive into this memoir. When it began, I thought to myself: "I think I'm really going to like this". Let me preface that I'm usually not a huge fan of memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, or anything that's like reading a timeline from a history textbook. However, when I started "Then Again", I got the impression that Diane was going to tell her life story through the perspective of her mother's life; a concept that I was interested to wat...more

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Amy Bond rated it 3 of 5 stars

I always thought Diane Keaton must have an incredibly interesting life story...and she does...but the young starving actress in NYC (with an eating disorder) is relatively cliched. I found myself getting bored with her early years. The idea of interweaving her and her mother's life together and telling the stories side by side is also not well executed. It is not until the story of her later years, on the set of Something's Gotta Give, and when she adopts her children, that I began to get really...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Janet Maslin, The New York Times • People • Vogue

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
—Financial Times • Chicago Sun-Times
The Independent • Bookreporter
*The Sunday Business Post*

Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she’d collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled

...more

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Janet Maslin, The New York Times • People • Vogue

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
—Financial Times • Chicago Sun-Times
The Independent • Bookreporter
*The Sunday Business Post*

Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she’d collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled THINK on her bedside table. Mom liked to THINK.

So begins Diane Keaton’s unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals—literally thousands of pages—in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane’s grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother—a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents—as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years.

More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.

Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2011: Yes, she dated Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, and Al Pacino, and yes, she appeared in The Godfather and Annie Hall. But this is much more than a mere celebrity tell-all. Then Again is sharply written, insightful, and often poignant, a story of family and friendship, and above all an ode to Keaton's complicated, adage-wielding mother, who harbored her own dreams of a bigger life. Woven throughout the book are excerpts from the dozens of journals Keaton's mother, Dorothy Hall, kept over the years. (She died in 2008.) If you’re a Diane Keaton fan, you’ll adore her even more after reading this memoir. If you have no idea who Diane Keaton is, it’s still a compelling story on its own--heartfelt, funny, and memorable. --Neal Thompson

Review

“For anyone looking to join one woman’s—albeit a famous woman’s—touching and funny journey into the vortex that is the parent-child relationship, Then Again features an especially honest tour guide.”—USA Today

“[A] rich and ruminative autobiographical journey.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)

“Although peek-behind-the-curtain moments are delicious—Woody Allen! Warren Beatty! Jack Nicholson! . . . this is a [memoir] about a mother and a daughter, with insights and confessions and lessons to which all readers can relate.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Both heartbreaking and joyful, [Then Again] covers the gamut of life experiences facing all women.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“A poem about women living in one another’s not uncomplicated memories. . . . Part of what makes Diane Keaton’s memoir, Then Again, truly amazing is that she does away with the star’s ‘me’ and replaces it with a daughter’s ‘I.’ ”—Hilton Als, The New Yorker

“This book feels like Diane Keaton. Which means it’s lovable.”—Entertainment Weekly

“As warm, funny, and self-deprecating as Keaton’s onscreen persona—[Then Again] traces a profound dramatic arc: that of a young woman coming into her own as an artist, and of a daughter becoming a mother.”—Vogue

“Then Again reads like the diary of an ordinary woman who suddenly became a movie star, who doesn’t quite believe any of it happened, but it did.”—Los Angeles Times

(less)

like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Agnes Benis rated it 2 of 5 stars

This memoir is about the relationship of Diane Keaton and her mother. I was looking forward to it because Diane Keaton is one of my favorite actors. The structure is Diane Keaton writes a section and then her mother's voice is inserted with parts of the journals the mother kept. The back and forth derailed the book. I wanted to know more about the formation and motivation of the artist Keaton. Perhaps the back and forth is how Keaton tries to show this. However, for me, there was too much mother...more

like · see review

Nov 10, 2012 Kristi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Then Again, by Diane Keaton found me at the library, where I tucked in for a minute between picking up sons from different activities. There it was sitting in the new arrivals section. I love Diane Keaton and her funny, quirky, womany ways. Her memoir was just as loveable.

Then Again, travels through Diane’s life and Dorothy’s (her Mom). The format is engaging; fun snippets, diary entries from Diane and Dorothy during the same time period, and photos. The format is similar to the collages she say...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 16, 2012 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: film-media, funny-ladies-write-books, memoirs

At times, this is an incredibly beautiful, touching, and well-written book. A tribute to her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's and upon her death, Keaton found her mother's copious notes, journals, and scrapbooks and collages and an attempt at her own memoir, excerpts of which are included to parallel Keaton's own life - kind of an attempt to look at their bond and documenting thoughts now, due to Keaton's own fear of losing her own memories down the line to Alzheimer's. It's very moving at...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 24, 2012 Annette rated it 3 of 5 stars

My sister mailed this book to me and it arrived on Wednesday, I began reading it that afternoon, and finished reading the book Thursday evening. It's a quick read. Interesting. A peek into the world of Diane Keaton both her life before acting, acting career, her mother's Alzheimer's, and current life raising children. It is not a gossip expose on any particular person that has been in Diane's life, I was grateful for that. She does mention those few men she'd had relationships with, but no horro...more
My sister mailed this book to me and it arrived on Wednesday, I began reading it that afternoon, and finished reading the book Thursday evening. It's a quick read. Interesting. A peek into the world of Diane Keaton both her life before acting, acting career, her mother's Alzheimer's, and current life raising children. It is not a gossip expose on any particular person that has been in Diane's life, I was grateful for that. She does mention those few men she'd had relationships with, but no horror stories, no tid-bits of inappropriate bashing. It is apparent from the book Diane is a up-beat, positive, hard-working, doesn't take her celebrity life seriously, manages her wealth maturely, is independent, and appreciative. I like her. Of course she placed in the book what she wanted the public to "know". I accept that. I don't need to "know" everything.

Diane was the eldest child born to Jack and Dorothy Hall. She and her younger siblings were raised in sunny southern California. Their home life was healthy. Diane to this day, values and appreciates her parents love and commitment for each other. Their marriage was a strong balance and foundation for her. After high school Diane moved to New York City to study acting. Her big break was in a Woody Allen movie.
The book covers Diane's various thoughts on memories: of childhood, religion, boyfriends, self-image, clothing, family, understanding her parents lives, mother's Alzheimer's, relationships, her choice to never marry, and children.
Diane wrote in the beginning of book her reason for writing this memoir was a way to try and understand her mother better, as well as her own life.
This book was also a way to create a lasting memory of her mother.

Positive Points:

Fulfilled a curiosity in me about Diane Keaton.
I believe Diane was successful in achieving her goal of creating a lasting memory of her mother, as well as in understanding her life and her parents lives better. This book was a way to think aloud and to assimilate her life and their lives.
Fulfilled a curiosity in me about Woody Allen.
Written candidly, but not uncomfortably intimate.
I can relate to having a mother with Alzheimer's, as well as the lengthy journey of the disease. Both our mother's were diagnosed about the same time, and died the same year.
Letters are included in the book which gives the memoir a feeling of tangibleness and believability. The book is not just the author speaking, but those others who are included in her memoir.
Life in New York City as an aspiring actor. The perseverance needed in the craft, and in being successful.

Negative Points:
I loathe giving negative points in a memoir. After all it is "their" story. I felt the book is well-written, interesting. Though, not a profound read. I'm glad Diane included the story of her mother's Alzheimer's. Even if a reader cannot relate in any other way, the relating to a parent who is ill affects most of us. (less)

like · see review

Sep 03, 2012 Mediaman rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a better book than reviewers state if you get rid of any high expectations of Keaton revealing bedroom secrets with her famous loves or behind-the-scenes insights into her films. I read the negative reviews and hesitated to pick this book up (and I'm not a huge Keaton fan, just someone who likes celebrity autobiographies)--but I am glad I did because she opens herself up to analyze herself and her family, particularly her mother's impact on her life.

Keaton does go through most of the imp...more This is a better book than reviewers state if you get rid of any high expectations of Keaton revealing bedroom secrets with her famous loves or behind-the-scenes insights into her films. I read the negative reviews and hesitated to pick this book up (and I'm not a huge Keaton fan, just someone who likes celebrity autobiographies)--but I am glad I did because she opens herself up to analyze herself and her family, particularly her mother's impact on her life.

Keaton does go through most of the important parts of her life but she never really goes in depth. She skips writing about her high school years without explaining why and never explains why she decided to go to New York to become an actress. She ignores many of her films and tv appearances (nine of her films get mentioned in one quick paragraph!) and she claims to not remember many of the things she has done professionally. It's interesting to hear that someone so famous and well-traveled can't recall anything about some of the things we best remember her for. That may be why some don't like this book--there are not enough movie memories.

As for her love affairs, she is relatively forthcoming compared to other modern Hollywood memoirs. She is still in love with Woody Allen and provides some insight into his quirks. She was attracted to cheating Warren Beatty since childhood and at one point concludes that she was more interested in "being Warren Beatty" than being with Warren Beatty. She says she tried to get Al Pacino to marry her. So there are enough insights to make it interesting, though there aren't a lot of details about what she did with these famous guys.

There's way too much of her mother in this book and that may be why so many are disappointed by it. Keaton doesn't seem to understand how her mother could be a happy submissive housewife with a distant husband and wacky son, and Keaton's lack of trust in men seems to be her attempt to right her family problems. But I think if the publisher would have forced Keaton to take out the parts about her mom then she wouldn't have agreed to do the book. Diane only can reveal herself when her mother's self-revelatory writings do so first. Keaton does open up about her insecurities, bulimia, motherhood late in life, her struggles with male authority figures and her dislike of being famous. It does skip around a bit and can be a little hard to follow at times. But she comes across as a regular person, which makes for a better celebrity memoir than most. (less)

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 26, 2012 Valeri Drach rated it 3 of 5 stars

Gotta love Diane Keaton. From high school to college I remember her as emmerging as Woody Allen's soulmate, main squeeze and favorite leading lady.From "Play it Again Sam" to "Manhattan" he captures her as the most appealing urban neurotic. In "Annie Hall", his tribute to her and their relationship he dresses her little tee shirts and invites the world to witness the frolic and fall of their love. Keaton gives us the back story of her relationships with Allen as well as her other leading men and...more

like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Jennie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I normally don't read autobirgraphies or memoirs because I generally find that I have nothing in common with the authors and reading this genre seems voyueristic. Howver, reading Diane Keaton's memoir has touched me in a way that left me crying by the end of the book. I have long felt a sort of kindred spiritness with Ms. Keaton because I feel we share an eccentric nature; I didn't realize how allike we are until I read this book. I was originally attracted to this book because she wrote it afte...more

like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who admired Diane Keaton's work.

Recommended to Carol by: I saw her on a talk show.

I read this touching memoir by Diane Keaton on kindle, mostly late at night. I'd read some, and then put it away for a bit. I think it was my way of savoring this brief feeling of having a friendship with someone I've long admired. And it does feel like she's sharing her thoughts with a new friend. I've thought Diane Keaton was so very special from her very first television appearances on late night talk shows. She was beautiful, but so honest and not a little flighty. My mother and I couldn't h...more

like · see review

Jul 21, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir

I listened to the audio version of “Then Again”. It was read/performed by the author, Diane Keaton. While I don’t always like it when authors read their own work, in this case it added to the book in a raw and touching way. This is not your usual Hollywood memoir. It is not a tell-all Hollywood gossip tome about movies, stars, lovers, and enemies. If you’re looking for that, this isn’t the book for you. It is more a tribute to Ms. Keaton’s mother. She makes it clear right from the start, "I've w...more I listened to the audio version of “Then Again”. It was read/performed by the author, Diane Keaton. While I don’t always like it when authors read their own work, in this case it added to the book in a raw and touching way. This is not your usual Hollywood memoir. It is not a tell-all Hollywood gossip tome about movies, stars, lovers, and enemies. If you’re looking for that, this isn’t the book for you. It is more a tribute to Ms. Keaton’s mother. She makes it clear right from the start, "I've written not my memoir but ours.... What I've done is create a book that combines my own memories and stories with Mom's notebooks and journals." The book is a written collage of her mother’s writings and those from Ms. Keaton. Her mother wrote a life-long journal contained in over 40 notebooks, and Ms. Keaton liberally quotes from them, as well as letters, phone messages, found texts, and personal notes. She often compares her mother’s life to her own with selections from her mother’s journals juxtaposed with her own writings from similar periods in their lives. The book reads pretty much as Diane Keaton speaks: a little rambling, with tangents that go off here and there. As an audio book, it’s a little disjointed and occasionally hard to follow, but Ms. Keaton doing her own narration helps immensely in keeping it straight because of the shifts in tone and timbre of her voice.

'Then Again' is largely a work of memory and feeling. It is incredibly raw. You feel her deep and abiding love for her family, her parents, brother and sisters, and for her adopted children, Dexter and Duke. It is the central core of her being. She is incredibly loyal to those she loves, both family and the men who have shared her life (Woodie Allen, Warren Beatty, & Al Pacino -- even though none of them were truly interested in committing to her). You feel her childhood bewilderment as she tries to connect with the remote man who is her father. Later, Ms. Keaton’s grief at the death of her father is starkly apparent in her voice as she nearly breaks down in the reading on several occasions. The intense respect and love she feels for her mother is obvious from the outset, and pervades the book. As her mother receives the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and slowly sinks into that abyss, Ms. Keaton is brutally honest about what is happening to her mother, to their relationship, to the family in relation to the changes in her mother and you ache for her. The pain and loss and lost quality to her voice are heart-breaking. You also truly feel the delight she takes in her children. Her candor is eye-opening. Yet at the same time, you are left wanting more. I think that for all her insight into her family, Ms. Keaton hasn’t really figured herself out very well yet. She can’t convey what she doesn’t know.

I know a lot of reviewers I’ve seen on other sites were unhappy that this wasn’t a “Hollywood-style” memoir where they found out more about what happened on movie sets and in relationship with other big names. (I don’t like Woodie Allen movies so I’m fine without those filming anecdotes.) I picked the book up because it was described as a joint memoir of her mother and herself, and focused on the mother-daughter relationship, independence, and the issues of aging, so I liked it even though I think it is an intrinsically sad book and therefore difficult to listen to at times. But I don’t know whether to give it 3 or 4 stars. I would happily give it 3.5 stars but Goodreads doesn’t do that. I think I will round up, for Dorothy Hall.
(less)

like · see review

Jul 16, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a sweet and soulful memoir from a movie star who actually has a life -- and an inner life -- worth reading about. Keaton's focus on her mother, Dorothy, and Dorothy's voluminous, richly imaged journals kept over decades introduces the theme of 'collage.' This allows Keaton to paste bits of her own life together and have them take on a deeper meaning and form a more coherent pattern. She doesn't indulge in gossip about her former lovers, but they are important influences, looming large i...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Carol Bundy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1945-50-project

I have to admit I haven't seen any of Diane Keaton's more recent films so I still think of her as the goofy insecure Annie Hall and while I find her charming, I wasn't at all convinced that I wouldn't tire of her after long exposure. TO MY SURPRISE, I found her remarkably substantive as a person. This is a searingly honest memoir filled with a remarkable mix of triumphs and failures. Exposing her vulnerabilities, took courage but I think I admired even more Keaton's fidelity to herself as a norm...more

like · see review

Jul 07, 2012 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

My preferred reading material is memoirs, which is why I picked up this book at the library. Plus, I like the Diane Keaton persona and a couple of her movies are on my top 10 favorites list, namely Manhattan Murder Mystery and Something's Gotta Give. Despite a fickle public, she's kept her movie career going for 40 years without descending into alcoholism, drugs, or slasher movies. This is a substantive accomplishment and makes me want to know more about her.

In this book Keaton doesn't give the...more

1 like · like · see review

May 23, 2012 Colleen O'Neill Conlan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bio-memoir

A sweet diversion, but not a lot of insight here, and not many of celebrity tidbits, either. It reads pretty much as Diane Keaton speaks: a little rambling, with tangents that go off here and there. A neat thing is that it's as much about her mother Dorothy Keaton Hall as it is about herself. There are letters, phone messages, and transcripts from Dorothy's journals. A really wonderful inclusion is mom's artistic journals, fabulous collages with magazine images, family photos, found texts, and p...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 23, 2012 Jenny Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very impressed with the high quality of this memoir and came away from it with a heightened respect for Keaton as a person.

I read it shortly after reading Judy Collins' memoir, and that reinforced my surprise at finding that Keaton is another luminously beautiful woman who went through much of her life oppressed by feelings of inadequacy, like Collins.

What a shame. I would have killed to look like Keaton when I was growing up, and the way she looks now, in her mid-60s is enough to make t...more

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2012 Bev rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography, favorites

This is not your usual Hollywood memoir. It is as much (if not more) a tribute to Diane's mother, Dorothy Hall, who loomed very large in her life, as it is the story about how shy, insecure Diane Hall became a celebrated movie star, lover to Woody Allen, Warren Beatty and Al Pacino, and triumphed over her persistent insecurities and went on to give us memorable performances in movies such as the Godfather series, Annie Hall (which Woody Allen based on Diane's own family), First Wives Club and ma...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 30, 2012 Gail rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here I thought I was getting myself into a memoir that might read as funny as the Diane Keaton I love onscreen! Instead, "Then Again" is Keaton's mash-up of her life story (with entries as diverse as battling an eating disorder to dating Al Pacino) intermixed with chapters devoted to her mother, Dorothy Hall. I was conflicted while reading because Diane uses Dorothy's journals——unread by Diane until her death-—to share so much of her mother's stories. Some of the entries felt so private and raw...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2012 Renee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Diane talks about her life as an actress, interwoven between the loves of her life, Woody Allan, Al Pacino and Warren Beatty. She also talks about the adoption of her children both after age fifty.

There were parts of this memoir that I really enjoyed, and I am probably even a bigger Keaton-fan after reading this book but there are equal parts of this book I didn’t enjoy and thought were extremely lackluster.

Much of this book is a tribute to her mother who died of Alzheimer’s and there is true b...more

like · see review

Jan 05, 2012 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

This purchase was a guilty pleasure for me. For whatever reason --we're almost the same age? she was living in NYC circa my college years when my now-husband was a student there? she became that teacher ( my profession once) in that nightmarish Goodbar?, that woman in The Good Mother ( both books which I loved)? or simply because she was/is Annie Hall? or, even more timely, because she and Jack Nicholson loved each other in that spectacular setting out on the tip of Long Island which I love to v...more

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 28, 2011 Rae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bio-memoir

A memoir/bio of both Diane Keaton and her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's before she passed away. The book is as quirky as Diane. I loved it.

A quote from her mother's diary entry touched me because I too like to write things down and copy quotes:

I talked to a woman at Hunter's Bookstore who had just spent 3 days cleaning out her deceased aunt's huge Victorian house. The aunt, a spinster, had died at age 86. She saved everything ever given, sent, or found. When asked why, she said that it g...more

like · see review

Dec 24, 2011 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

I identify with Diane and her mother, Dorothy. I'm one part Diane-or as many might think-Annie Hall-and one part Dorothy. I found Keaton's memoir to be a very interesting journey. I loved finding out how she became who she is, the films and relationships that were turning points and what makes her tick. She doesn't hold back with her own self criticisms, but they are delivered in manner that makes it endearing vs annoying.

I found myself understanding Diane even better-and falling deeper in love...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 17, 2011 Philip rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to start out by saying that I've never been a particularly big fan of Keaton's acting - maybe I found her too quirky and ditzy, I don't really know - I would still gladly snatch away her 1977 Best Actress Oscar for ANNIE HALL and hand it over to Anne Bancroft, Jane Fonda, or Shirley MacLaine.

But Diane Keaton, human being - well, that's something and someone different altogether. This is not your typical 'movie-star memoir,' either of the "and then I filmed..." or "and then I f--ed" varie...more I have to start out by saying that I've never been a particularly big fan of Keaton's acting - maybe I found her too quirky and ditzy, I don't really know - I would still gladly snatch away her 1977 Best Actress Oscar for ANNIE HALL and hand it over to Anne Bancroft, Jane Fonda, or Shirley MacLaine.

But Diane Keaton, human being - well, that's something and someone different altogether. This is not your typical 'movie-star memoir,' either of the "and then I filmed..." or "and then I f--ed" variety. Rather, Diane Keaton is a woman who takes acting seriously yet has never taken her stardom seriously, who considers it a privilege to have worked with and known and learned from some of the biggest names in the business, yet family and friends have always come first with her. This memoir is a testament to that.

She writes movingly of the death of her father from a brain tumor, of the incremental disappearance of her mother's quick, creative mind into the non-world of Alzheimer's, and of the joys and wonders of raising children in her 50s and 60s. And without pulling any punches or asking for sympathy, she discloses her own dark secret, a five-year bout with bulimia.

Keaton mentions Audrey Hepburn several times, that she idolized her when she was young, and failed to make the most of meeting her later on ("You can imagine my shock when Audrey Hepburn rushed up to me after I won the Academy Award and told me the future was mine. 'Really? Oh, I don't know. Wow. I don't know about that, I mean, the future and all, but you're...you...you're my idol, I'm just...what can I say? I'm so honored to meet you.' I stumbled and bumbled. What could I do? This was not 'Miss Hepburn at Home.' This woman was old. . . .Audrey Hepburn, my one true without equal, beyond compare, second to none, was no longer a perfect still life. . . .She was forty-eight when I met her, not exactly what you'd call old. Backstage, I pretended to listen to her words, but in truth I couldn't get my mind off age and what it does to a person. Maybe it was said best by Cher: 'There is only value to having the look you have when you are young and no value to the look you have when you are older.' Instead of taking the time to have a conversation with Audrey Hepburn, I chose to hightail my way out of her company as fast as I could. It is another regret in a growing list of regrets." - yet take a look at the last photo ("Diane with pearls")in the book's second section of pictures, and you'll see a startling resemblance to another legendary Hepburn.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 25, 2012 Suzanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

I went on Amazon to see the reviews on this and was astonished by the glowing reviews: one of the best books of the year by major newspapers, etc.. I listened to it and the charm of her reading it worked on me for a while. Keaton comes across as the sweet, warm person I've always thought her to be. And she loves her mother. A lot. I doubt she wanted us to take away the picture of her mother as a lost, dying Alzheimer patient, but that's what I got. I had a better sense of David Sedaris' mother f...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Sarah Fay rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this book because I have always loved Diane Keaton in all her parts and have also admired the person she seems to be in real life. That all still holds true, but I was pretty disappointed with the book, which was amateurishly written at best; wandering and boring at worst. While it is full of deeply personal confessions - of for instance, her bulemia, her lack of self esteem, her family dynamics ...she completely skips over the good stuff and fails to fill in any details of her famed rela...more

5 likes · like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Sondra Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

Diane Keaton for me has always been, well– I hate to be a Polyanna here but– she's always been a ray of sunshine for me. I'm always happy to see her face. I almost always adore her movies. And there's the added delight of, over the years, having at least a dozen people ask me "has anyone ever told you that you look like Diane Keaton?" BIG compliment in my book.

So, I doubt that I can be objective about her book. I SO looked forward to knowing more about her. I'm a fan but I didn't know thing one...more

1 like · like · see review

title link	preview: Then Again
avg rating	preview: Then Again Goodreads rating: 3.33 (4503 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11265118-then-again?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328208157l/11265118.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11265118-then-again?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Then Again by Diane Keaton[/url]

Then Again

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (16)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Diane Keaton

Books by Diane Keaton

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Then Again

Quotes from Then Again