Who I Am

by Charlotte Rampling, Christophe Bataille (Primary Contributor)

For the first time, the internationally acclaimed actress and icon tells the story of her origins and early life, illustrated throughout with photographs from her family archive. Haunting, illuminating, and deeply candid, the book reveals the person behind some of cinema's most unforgettable performances.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Film, Autobiography, British Literature

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[KOMET]

Charlotte Rampling is an actress who has intrigued me since the movie "Orca" - in which she starred with Richard Harris - came out in 1977. Her eyes are both mesmeric and feline. In the intervening years, I've seen a few of her movies and have learned a bit about her life.

So, when I learned about this terse memoir from a radio interview I heard Charlotte Rampling give about it, I decided to buy it. It is a book full of reminisces and asides, as well as varied photos of Charlotte Rampling, her family, and some of the places in England and France that figured prominently for the Ramplings.

"WHO I AM" is a book that can be easily read and enjoyed in a few hours.

[Roxana V]

For fans who prefer deviating from anything remotely formulaic, found this read to be an absolute treat in the way Rampling opted to tell her story. It's intimate and cathartic - a loving tribute to the people who shaped this fascinating artist's life.

[Stephen]

Interesting book with family photos and poems

[Lewis Woolston]

I picked this up from the library thinking it was a regular biography or memoir of a very talented actress. It's actually a sort of poem/collection of poems themed around her youth and growing up.
Not really my thing.

[Kristine]

If it weren't for Charlotte Rampling, I'd give this two stars.

[Jeff Howells]

A strange, slight book. It’s not a memoir but it does concern Charlotte Rampling’s childhood. It’s co-authored and the narrative switches between Charlotte & Christophe Bataille. However one gets the feeling that what we’ve ended up with wasn’t what the publishers might have expected when it was commissioned. It’s like a fragmented poem really. However given the choices she has made in her acting career it’s apt that Charlotte Rampling has written a book that also, to a large extent, defies categorisation.

[Hunter]

Unique format, thought provoking and poetic, mixes well with the old photos and journal excerpts. It gives the reader plenty of latitude to fill in details and interpretations of the subject's life story, very different than a typical biography or memoir. I would've preferred it to be longer, as it ended shortly after I acquired the rhythm and flow and got even more engaged by Rampling's life and family story.

[Evelyne]

Easy read, enjoyed it, poetic

[Amanda E]

A short poetic ballad and glimpse into Charlotte Rampling's life, with a secret or two whispered.

[Martin Petrin]

All childhood is bathed in light.

Hardly a biography, this little piece of memories, episodes and fragments all wrapped in one is more of a recollection of the connection between renowned actress Charlotte Rampling and her sister Sarah. After several failed attempts during the years to tell the story of her life, Rampling finally sat with author Christophe Bataille and both produced this poem, as she calls it, a joyful reverie. The search for the right form goes on throughout the whole book, always eluding. And it doesn’t need to be structured. It’s just a chunk of Charlotte. For her, childhood is where one builds themselves, where all secrets lie, where the friendships are made. Most of her closest people would constantly come into her life and then go, leaving her shattered into pieces.

Like this memoir – the moment it seems you’re getting a grasp of it… it disappears.

[Danielle]

A beautiful and unconventional written memoir that truly touches the heart. I've always enjoyed her work, especially Swimming Pool which is my favorite film.

This led me to want to know more and I discovered Charlotte led quite an interesting life and was a mysterious woman. I wanted to know more. And while I have learned about her in this book, it is not what I thought it would be ,but actually something deeper.

While I still would love to know more about her later life, after reading this I understand why she chose not to write that story to be read. Ever the mystery, a secret, the answer in her eyes.

[Wendelle]

a nonlinear archival of Charlotte Rampling's memories and inner life. preserved records of impressions, emotions, colors set in the landscape of those memories of her youth, her parents, her sister. thus it's strange among autobiographies, of a touching intimacy, yet adding to rather than deciphering the allure of Charlotte. at the same time it's important to note that a third-party (journalist) transcribed this, shielding her by disrupting the intimacy with his mediation and translation and pruning of her words. i wish she wrote this herself.

[Lucy Hill]

For context, I had no idea who Charlotte Rampling was until reading this book. I found it at a little free book library and it looked interesting to me.

Despite how short this book is, I didn’t really get it at first. This lead to me not picking it up for a while. Yet when I went to read it again, it clicked. Before I knew it, the book was finished.

I’m still not sure I could explain this book to someone, but there’s some beautiful writing and the ending left me with a sadness in the pit of my stomach.

[LeastTorque]

This brief and unique glimpse of a life did much to illuminate that life. I’ve always avoided learning about the private lives of public figures to avoid interference in my experience of the public persona. But my fascination with Charlotte Rampling failed to keep me from this book. And rather than unwanted interference, it instead provided an understanding of the underlying melancholy that has been the source of my love for her work. Moving and excellent.

[Jeffrey]

Charlotte Rampling has written a unique autobiography that reads like a brief, powerful dream, like anchored to reality with various pictures of her family and herself at different ages. Not one to overwhelm the reader with dates and facts, this text leaves one longing for a little more information and a little more insight into the accomplished actress' life and viewpoints.

[Liz Gray]

I have always been fascinated by Charlotte Rampling, whose cool affect and reserved demeanor remind me of my birth mother. This short memoir—a essay with photographs—describes her early life with her parents and sister, as well as that sister’s untimely death. The pain and loss of those relationships clearly had a profound effect on Rampling: they inform everything about her.

[Alyssa]

I was confused for most of it (lots of shifting I/you perspective). The writing is like opening a box of photos, and trying to make a story that connects them.

I think it wrapped together in the end.

[Anais919]

A poetic look at the early life of this acclaimed actress! Short and sweet!

[Mark Twist]

Moving.

[Jeremy]

I enjoyed this quirky little book and the insights it provides to this astonishingly beautiful actress

[Skaitau]

Short and pretentious

[Debs]

Not quite what I expected. A gentle lilting song of love for a lost sister. Remembrances of a childhood. A poem woven with love.

[Simon Bate]

An autobiography? ...that's a bit of a stretch...more like a commentary on her sister Sarah...arthouse films arthouse book.

[Тaniia Тkachuk]

I knew nothing about Charlotte’s private life and was deeply engaged into reading this short page turner. Very aesthetically beautiful book. And the story is heartbreaking.

[Tim Turnbull]

I enjoyed this brief vignette on Charlotte's life which focused largely on her parents and childhood and the relationship with her older sister.

[Marianna Michael]

Joyful and heartbreaking in equal measure. Deeply personal.

[JC]

Not a bad book in any way but it reveals almost nothing about her life.

[Terese]

3.5 lovely reflections on her childhood and youth. A series of vignettes.

[Mark Latchford]

Not really a book. Perhaps best described as pamphlet written by the subject and a friend in a most unusual dream like narrative. Wonderful insights into one of my favourite actors family and upbringing especially her tragic sister. Way too short it takes no more than an hour to read but some terrific photos are included. A complete biography is sometime away.

[Nathalie]

J'ai envie de vous dire que pour cet ouvrage, son essence se trouve déjà dans le titre qui est excellent. En effet, ce n'est pas une biographie classique qui nous est proposé, mais une découverte par touches ultra subtiles de la personnalité de Charlotte Rampling. Qui je suis ? Qui est-elle ?

Plus fin encore qu'un jeu de devinettes, on peut lire les bribes que l'actrice a consenti à donner à Christophe Bataille. C'est d'autant plus captivant que l'on ne sait jamais ce que chacune de leurs rencontres va laisser entrevoir. Pour un peu, cette lecture laisse comme une impression de jeu félin, Charlotte excellant dans cette mouvance toute en pattes de velours.

Seules les jeunes années de la vie de Charlotte sont abordées. C'est assez logique car pour cerner une personnalité, rien ne vaut l'analyse de l'enfance, de sa jeunesse, de sa construction en quelque sorte. Ce début d'existence qui façonne forcément le caractère, qui influence les choix, est unique pour chacun et explique le pourquoi et quelques fois le comment de nos différences avec des expériences assez similaires.

Jolie surprise que ce livre qui diffère de la multitude de titres disponibles sur nos stars préférées. Le lecteur est bousculé doucement dans ses habitudes par un style littéraire un peu particulier et il se prend au jeu. S'il n'assouvit pas toute sa curiosité, il apprécie que des zones restent sombres (comme quoi). Le mystère, il n'y a pas mieux pour stimuler l'imagination... Charlotte Rampling se nimbe de brouillard tout en se livrant plus qu'elle ne l'aurait jamais cru à mon sens et je trouve que cela sied si bien à l'une des plus françaises des anglaises qui nous fait a fait rêver, frissonner, trembler, rire... Bref qui nous a fait nous sentir vivant à travers ses rôles.

Avec les magnifiques clichés qui jalonnent cette édition, on plonge encore plus profondément dans l'univers secret et unique de Charlotte Rampling.

A découvrir.