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63rd out of 338 books
—
937 voters
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette
A scandalously talented stage performer, a practiced seductress of both men and women, and the flamboyant author of some of the greatest works of twentieth-century literature, Colette was our first true superstar. Now, in Judith Thurman's Secrets of the Flesh, Colette at last has a biography worthy of her dazzling reputation.
Having spent her childhood in the shadow of an o...more
Having spent her childhood in the shadow of an o...more
Paperback, 660 pages
Published
October 31st 2000
by Ballantine Books
(first published October 12th 1999)
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Jan 29, 2012
Madeline
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012,
biography,
books-about-books,
library-books,
francophilia,
non-fiction,
women,
queer,
class,
history,
lit-crit,
marriage-lets-you-down,
wwi,
coming-of-age,
funny,
wwii
This is an excellent, if slightly unusual biography - Colette herself was highly unusual, of course, and this is one of the few biographies I've read where the subject triumphs. I mean, yes, yes, that's partly my own sympathies speaking up, isn't it: when you mostly read biographies of artists (especially writers and movie stars? riiiight) and politicians (especially Alexander Hamilton and T.E. Lawrence? riiiiight), then an overall sense of failure is going to crop up. But Secrets of the Flesh i...more
I just reread this and greatly enjoy it. It has been done very thoroughly and does not give any impression that anything could have been sloughed over or left out. I am not at all disappointed... and yet I can't give it five stars because the author put far too much of herself into it - a morally opinionated and properly feminist modern woman with little in common with Colette. I think the best biographies give you almost no real sense of who the author is and what their own outlook on life migh...more
Anyone who loves Colette's books will love this biography. Her life reads like one of her novels, and Thurman turns the art of biography into true literature. She writes wonderfully about the famous French author, and manages to recapture the extravagance of this daring, original woman with wit, intelligence and understanding. Colette's eventful life (not without ambiguities) and great literary accomplishments are well described and explained, and Thurman keeps an objective eye on her complex su...more
Yes, it has taken me years to finish this book, but I think I actually finished it twice. It has traveled to Paris and back in every season, sat on all of my nightstands and been referenced a hundred times. (The reference sections are a writer's dream come true!) I suppose I didn't want it to end... Like, I didn't want to come to the part when she dies. But having "finished" it, I know it will forever be on my nightstand. I have dog-eared and/or highlighted passages on most of the 500 pages.
I w...more
I w...more
I really enjoyed this book. I don't normally ready biographies, but this was fascinating, I didn't even mind the extensive detail. Colette lived a wild old life, and is as interesting a character as any in her books. Made me want to reread her novels.
I want to read this again right now! My beautiful friend gave me this book, and I just loved it. It's the bio of the French author, Colette, and though it has too many details about each and every person Colette ever met, it is also just an amazing life story she has!
Illuminating biography of Colette, a turn of the century French writer who was known almost as well for her scandalous affairs as for her erotic novels. This was one a book club pick.
WHEN WILL THIS BOOK END??? I've yet to master the art of skimming, and this book needs this method, otherwise it's an endless barrage of poorly-connected details with an occasional "daring" interpretation that reads like a copy/paste from Freud or Wittig. Even exhaustive biographies need to tell a story, omitting some details in favor of a whole. That's my opinion at least (I see the other point too - life is full of disconnected minutiae, so is a bio, etc etc). So this baggy monster is informat...more
I have given it up for now(page 507)-it is good, but too detailed and long. I feel like I have to read something else now. Maybe I will continue to read it someday.
1 like · like · see review
Fiercely independent, wildly creative, and supremely individual, Collette is a wellspring of passion.
All the waves and sour turns in her life have lead me to put this one down a few times but that's just a matter of my feeling invested in Collette and her trials. I'm semi-literate but find Secrets of the Flesh to be well written, often sharing a tone that compliments the flair and wit of the Collette quotes peppering it's pages.
A colorful character path finding while exploring the depths of her...more
All the waves and sour turns in her life have lead me to put this one down a few times but that's just a matter of my feeling invested in Collette and her trials. I'm semi-literate but find Secrets of the Flesh to be well written, often sharing a tone that compliments the flair and wit of the Collette quotes peppering it's pages.
A colorful character path finding while exploring the depths of her...more
This is a deeply researched and well written biography on Colette. I enjoyed it even though I have not read any of her books.....yet!
Judith Thurman does a jam up job. I love Colette anyway.
A very thorough and well written biography. The first part also provides some, to me, fascinating background and insights into the fin-de-siècle (the 19th that is) decadence in Paris. I was also surprised to learn that she published in extreme right wing and anti semitic journals before and during the war.
Sometimes, knowing the background of a book's creation provides extra enjoyment when reading it. In this case, however, I'm glad I read Colette's books before I learned about the circumstances
...more
Second only to her biography of Isak Dineson.
Oct 14, 2012
Lori
marked it as to-read
One of J.K. Rowling's favorite books
This is a great biography of a truly fascinating person. I've heard other readers complain that Thurman didn't seem to like her subject very much, but I don't think that's true. Thurman presented her subject truthfully and Colette was not always a nice person. She was a hedonist, a conservative with severely liberal life choices, and contradicted her opinions with her life. Regardless, she lived. Really lived and was an amazing writer who took chances to tell the truth in her writing few do even...more
I gave up reading this book. The material was interesting but I hated the author's writing style. I found it to be dense and awkward. I had a hard time following the information.
Apr 04, 2013
Tiina Sarja
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those who love reading phonebook
One of most boring books, have been reading this from 2010 October
Can you believe I got this with only 2 euros? Even when translated into Finnish the writing is beautiful for a non-fiction work. It blends in perfectly among those little Colette quotes. Not only Thurman has captured the spirit of Colette she also writes objectively and corrects some of the misconceptions that the reader may have heard about her.
This is an incisive and insightful biography of the French author Colette. In addition, because of Judith Thurman's fluency in French, I learned a lot of wonderful idiomatic French expressions. It sent me back to Colette's writings, which I am reading with a fresh eye.
Very interesting biography of the author of Gigi, The Claudine novels and more. It's hard to keep track of the names of friends as the author moves episodically but definitely worth reading. It makes me want to read her novels.
Very well written and engaging book about a fascinating, if controversial, writer. I will definitely seek out other biographies written by Thurman (if the subject interests me, that is, as Colette does!). Highly recommended.
I respect the thorough research done by Thurman a good deal more than I enjoyed the read, otherwise I should have rated this book three stars. It was far more academic in style than I would prefer.
I can't seem to get through it.
Even though it took me 2 years to finish this book, it was one of the best bio's I've read.
I was crazy in love with Colette while I was reading this.
I enjoyed her biography of Isaak Dinesen.
The best biography of Colette EVER.
Jan 30, 2009
Quincy
added it
May 20, 2013
Jessa
marked it as to-read
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Jul 20, 2009 06:22am