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166th out of 174 books
—
17 voters
My Judy Garland Life: A Memoir
by
Susie Boyt
An irresistible mixture of memoir, biography, cultural analysis, hero worship, and sequinstudded self-help that will speak to anyone who’s ever nursed an obsession.
Judy Garland has been an important figure in Susie Boyt’s life since she was three years old: comforting, inspiring, and at times disturbing her. In this unique book, Boyt travels deep into the underworld of he...more
Judy Garland has been an important figure in Susie Boyt’s life since she was three years old: comforting, inspiring, and at times disturbing her. In this unique book, Boyt travels deep into the underworld of he...more
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published
April 28th 2009
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published January 1st 2008)
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How I Came To Read This Book: I suspect I read about it in British Glamour and tracked it down on Amazon.
The Plot: Susie Boyt has always loved Judy Garland - despite only being alive for a few months when Judy tragically died. This book takes a look at the ways Judy has been a part of Susie's life, and the quest Susie is on to engage hero-worship of her favourite star in a world that never allowed her to reach out to Judy while she was alive. From Judy's young days at MGM (and Susie's dreams of...more
The Plot: Susie Boyt has always loved Judy Garland - despite only being alive for a few months when Judy tragically died. This book takes a look at the ways Judy has been a part of Susie's life, and the quest Susie is on to engage hero-worship of her favourite star in a world that never allowed her to reach out to Judy while she was alive. From Judy's young days at MGM (and Susie's dreams of...more
I discovered the charm of Susie Boyt's writing style in a magazine article and decided I had to read her memoir even though I wouldn't call myself a Judy Garland fan. I saw myself in the author's obsession (I have plenty of obsessions) and marveled at the way her love for Judy conformed with and/or shaped many of her quite dissimilar (to Judy's) life experiences. If you've ever had an obsession with a creative artist of any genre, you may want to check out this book.
This was an interesting memoir. At first I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the protagonist, or feel compassion for her. It was a bit strange how she intertwined her life with that of a woman who died when she was 1 year old. But, somehow Judy Garland became a role-model and an inspiration in Susie Boyt's life. She gets to know herself through Judy Garland, as her story and that of Ms. Garland's parallel themselves. It is well-written, interesting, and yet a bit strange.
The author discusses her life in relation to her worship of Judy Garland.
A slightly odd book, entertaining in places, but the lack of background on Judy Garland (for all those who don’t know much about her) made the narrative slightly confusing. The lack of titles for many of the photographs (in the text) was annoying.
Probably a good read if you are a fan of Judy Garland.
A slightly odd book, entertaining in places, but the lack of background on Judy Garland (for all those who don’t know much about her) made the narrative slightly confusing. The lack of titles for many of the photographs (in the text) was annoying.
Probably a good read if you are a fan of Judy Garland.
The author is obsessed with Judy Garland, has interviewed her children, husbands, costars, fans, and anyone else remoted connected to Judy. July has provided solace through times of despair. Her voice evokes a magical world for the author. I can truly understand this type of hero worship as I had the same tendencies during difficult periods of my life.
I am not a fan of Judy Garland but that wasn't an issue reading this book - it is partly a biography but is also the writer's own memoir. Well written, I found myself drawn to it until I had finished it and by the end felt I really knew something of the author. Would recommend this to anyone who understands what it's like to be obsessed by someone famous, or who wishes to understand these obsessions.
I remember when I was little and I would see Judy Garland on T.V.-the way Susie Boyt describes her is so like I remember her. This is a very well written book-A page turner. Susie has peeked my interest so much that I ordered two DVDs on Judy. I look forward to reading Susie's next book.
Mar 18, 2012
June Seghni
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
autobiographical
I liked this a lot; I thought her writing was dazzling, and I identified with a lot of her childhood experiences and feelings. However ,if you're not a die-hard Judy Garland fan I don't know if this is for you..by the end I felt a little overwhelmed, but then I did gobble it down in one sitting..!
One imagines a memoir written through a Judy Garland lens would almost inevitably be teeth-grindingly awful, but Boyt avoids all the looming pitfalls and manages to produce an affecting, heartfelt, wryly funny, utterly surprising work.
Absolutely glorious.
Absolutely glorious.
What an odd book! This woman, (trivia alert: daughter of painter Lucian Freud, great grand-daughter of Sigmund, undoubtedly the most interesting facts about her) is obsessed by Judy Garland and writes about said obsession in tedious detail.
Tamsin Greig reads Susie Boyt's tribute to the Hollywood star, detailing how The Wizard of Oz led to a life-long passion.
Broadcast on:
BBC Radio 7
I wanted to like this. I really did. I thought the premise was interesting as I've been more than a little starstruck before. But no matter how much I wanted to like it, I just couldn't. It was a struggle to get through it. Maybe in the end it was just that I didn't really care about Judy Garland as much as Boyt obviously does. I did, however, learned all that I could ever want to know about Garland. I also thought that the visit to Garland's final resting place at the end was bittersweet -- it...more
I kept reading, but this woman struck me as more than a little insane.
A curious blend of memoir and biography. My interest in the weird, sad life of Judy Garland has been piqued.
Not so good as expected...
So far just like Judy, funny, charming and sad.... It had a bit about Christmas which is exactly how I feel....
worst book I have ever opened.
Self-indulgent in the extreme. I never leave a book unfinished once I start it, but I was sorely tempted to with this one. There are a couple of excellent biographies of the highly talented Ms Garland, and I strongly recommend that fans read one of those instead.
Thanks to jennifer's recommendation, I read on the commuter train. Engrossing and touching
Gorgeous, insightful, imaginative, odd.
Boyt, Susie
Apr 21, 2013
Iroulito91
marked it as to-read
Apr 20, 2013
Alfreije
added it
Apr 20, 2013
Arlene Kenny
is currently reading it
Feb 27, 2013
Jenbeck99
marked it as to-read
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