Savage Grace: The True Story of Fatal Relations in a Rich and Famous American Family
by Natalie Robins, Steven M Aronson
published
December 18th 2007
(first published 1985)
by Touchstone
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binding
Paperback, 512 pages
literary awards
Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime (1986)
isbn
1416572961
(isbn13: 9781416572961)
description
A spellbinding tale of money and madness, incest and matricide, Savage Grace is the saga of Brooks and Barbara Baekeland -- beautiful, rich, wo...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 177)
wow. usually i don't read "true crime" but this one caught my eye. it tells the story of the baekland family - descendants of the man who invented bakelite, one of the first plastics. which means they were mondo rich. they hung out with the likes of jim jones, andy warhol and many other famous writers of the times. the story is told in an oral history style, which lends itself well to the tragic tale, which involves a murder.
i read this book in, like, 2 days. it took over my life. app...more
i read this book in, like, 2 days. it took over my life. app...more
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Read in June, 2008
I don't know why I keep buying books like this. Well, I know WHY (rich people with problems are so fascinating, aren't they?), but maybe I can't justify it anymore. It's starting to feel too voyeuristic.
Anyway, the "characters" in this book are a real piece of work. The book follows a clear timeline, but has no real over-arching narrative; it's all told through quotations and personal letters and official documents. I think a clear narrative voice would have been useful, though...more
Anyway, the "characters" in this book are a real piece of work. The book follows a clear timeline, but has no real over-arching narrative; it's all told through quotations and personal letters and official documents. I think a clear narrative voice would have been useful, though...more
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Huge thanks to viv@well for sending this original hardback edition across the pond. This is now a major feature film (scripted by our revered mutual friend Howard A Rodman!) and about to go on general release, so reading up the source material first seemed a must. Norman Mailer calls this the best oral history since Edie, and he's right. This is a brilliant portrait of transatlantic jet-set life and a grey evocation of the inevitable psychological complications of social clambering. Insecurity...more
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Read in September, 2008
This book is creepy. And enticing. And terribly sad.
I agree with other reviewers that Brooks Baekland is the most disturbing of all the people depicted in this book. I think that his actions were the impetus for all of the tragedy that befell this family.
He drove his wife and son crazy with his egotistical indifference to everyone and everything. He deserved to die all alone. I still don't understand how someone can feel so little for his spouse and son.
The style is odd and I thought ...more
I agree with other reviewers that Brooks Baekland is the most disturbing of all the people depicted in this book. I think that his actions were the impetus for all of the tragedy that befell this family.
He drove his wife and son crazy with his egotistical indifference to everyone and everything. He deserved to die all alone. I still don't understand how someone can feel so little for his spouse and son.
The style is odd and I thought ...more
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This isn't a straightforward biographical account; rather, it's a combination of oral history and loads of personal letters. While it was fascinating to read "in their own words" what happened from so many of the participants, after a while the lack of an overall interpretive voice became frustrating. This material is SO juicy -- incest, murder, madness and more -- that it begs for an analysis, an opinion, *something* more than just the words of the family and friends themselves, wh...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
voyeurs, oral historians
The most satisfying true crime account I've read, because it's made up of statements from a staggeringly wide range of friends, family, psychiatrists, etc., and letters from the time period. It's more like a portrait of the family's life. Mostly when I read true crime there's sort of an inevitability hanging over and informing the narration, but here everyone contradicts everyone else, including themselves, on little or big details, and I still don't know whether I think that it could have bee...more
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Read in October, 2008
Surprisingly, I was more interested in the telling than the tale.
With hundreds of sources, the authors present truths, half-truths, rumors and more side by side. The main characters (er, sources, as it's a "true" story) are dead, so they can't dispute the tale. Everyone who ever knew them, it seems, offers their two cents on how the family got its comeuppance. Or at least, that's what about half of them thought.
All journalists -- or anyone who is interested in journalism -- sho...more
With hundreds of sources, the authors present truths, half-truths, rumors and more side by side. The main characters (er, sources, as it's a "true" story) are dead, so they can't dispute the tale. Everyone who ever knew them, it seems, offers their two cents on how the family got its comeuppance. Or at least, that's what about half of them thought.
All journalists -- or anyone who is interested in journalism -- sho...more
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Read in September, 2008
I really can't believe I stuck this book out to the end.
I think Brooks Baekeland has a lot to answer for. What an egomaniacal bastard and responsibility shirker. As far as I'm concerned he is (was) way crazier than Barbara or Tony.
I have to say that I never got much sense of who Barbara was, despite all the reminiscences. Such a mish-mash. Also, I'd like to know how the authors/compilers went about their interviews and how they got so many people to speak so candidly and why they were w...more
I think Brooks Baekeland has a lot to answer for. What an egomaniacal bastard and responsibility shirker. As far as I'm concerned he is (was) way crazier than Barbara or Tony.
I have to say that I never got much sense of who Barbara was, despite all the reminiscences. Such a mish-mash. Also, I'd like to know how the authors/compilers went about their interviews and how they got so many people to speak so candidly and why they were w...more
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Read in July, 2008
For those of you who think your family is dysfunctional, read this book. Your family will seem positively Cleaver-esque compared to the Baekeland's wackiness. It took me a little while to get used to the style of this book as it consists almost entirely of interviews with a whole slew of characters who knew or were related to the Baekeland family. My verdict is still out on the style, but I did find the book morbidly compelling. The Baekelands are the car accident that you can't tear your eyes a...more
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Read in June, 2008
Wow, interesting but at different times, difficult to read. I understand the movie is coming out soon, so I'll see it. Talk about the lack of parenting? The father is absent, the mother? Don't even want to try to figure her out. All in all, this was a disaster waiting to happen and yes, I do put a lot of blame on the father, seems he never cared one way or another and left the son to raise himself and be with an insane mother. Still, interesting.
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Read in September, 2008
I am almost to the end of this book and have not been able to put it down. At times fascinating, disturbing, hilarious, upsetting, and overall shocking, this is a true crime story the best writers couldn't make up. The realities and tendencies of the idle rich make for fascinating reading, but are they people I would want to get close to? Not necessarily. However, when it comes to character study and psychological analysis, it's right up my alley!
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Read in August, 2008
Actually, not sure what I think of this book. Written some years ago, it's an interesting book. It has almost no narrative, instead being composed of interviews, letters and some press reports, which makes it very "real time". It's the story of a murder within the family of the man who invented bakelite. It's also the story of what happens when mental illness is ignored, misunderstood, or considered bad behavior.
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
true crime lovers.
I'm having a non-fiction moment and I picked this up at Barnes & Noble.
The story of the family that gave the world Bakelite is disturbing on lots of levels, but the nearly epistolary style made it an interesting read. Told from the perspective of many interested parties, this story of a son who kills his mother left me slightly sickened. However, well worth the read.
The story of the family that gave the world Bakelite is disturbing on lots of levels, but the nearly epistolary style made it an interesting read. Told from the perspective of many interested parties, this story of a son who kills his mother left me slightly sickened. However, well worth the read.
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This true-crime story of mother love gone very, very wrong fucked me up. Wow. You might think your parents did a crappy job raising, but once you read this book, you will likely see them in a whole new light. In a nutshell: I could not put this book down. I liked the way it was told--in snippets of testimony from those who witnessed this American tragedy.
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Read in August, 2008
This is one of those books that makes me glad I'm not loaded with money. It seems to me that many families that have inherited major $$ from their ancestors and then are not required to do anything with their lives become completely amoral. This family is no exception. Intersting read as it is told through personal interviews and court reports.
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The format made this one really difficult to read in small sections - you almost had to dedicate large chunks of time to it to really get into the storyline and not have to re-read sections to remember where you were. Fascinating characters with almost unbelievable issues. I'm definitely interested to see the movie that is coming out!
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Read in October, 2008
This book was...awful.
The story sounded promising - however, it was very poorly constructed. Rather than being a narrative, the story was told through a series of quotes and letters. Most of the quotes were from people who barely knew the parties involved and really didn't add anything.
I couldn't finish it.
The story sounded promising - however, it was very poorly constructed. Rather than being a narrative, the story was told through a series of quotes and letters. Most of the quotes were from people who barely knew the parties involved and really didn't add anything.
I couldn't finish it.
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I am 100 percent intrigued by this novel despite having to admit I'd never heard of it before seeing a trailer for the film.
Seriously, how good does this look? Julianne Moore is such a top-rate actress. And a film with Hugh Dancy? Ummm, yes please. Count me in!
http://www.apple.com/trailers/...
Seriously, how good does this look? Julianne Moore is such a top-rate actress. And a film with Hugh Dancy? Ummm, yes please. Count me in!
http://www.apple.com/trailers/...
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Read in September, 2008
Disturbing *&^#%$'in family. Enjoyed the use of primary sources and lack of third person narration, although it sometimes left the entries "contextualess". You'll like this book if you enjoy marveling at how completely self-absorbed people can be.
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This book captivated me through two cross-country trips for work - so sad and yet i was unable to put it down...symbolic of our wealth and fame obsessed culture...Barbara's unending need for attention is so sad and yet so recognizable.
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