Piaf

by Monique Lange

Light rubbing and edgewear.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Monique Lange was born on September 11, 1926. She was a writer and actress, known for La Truite (The Trout) (1982), Emmanuelle 3 (1977) and A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (1986). She died on October 7, 1996 in Paris, France.

(from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0486171/bi...)

Reviews

[nettebuecherkiste]

2.5

[Nikita]

Even though I've heard her name before, I've only really got introduced to this legendary singer through a movie called La Vie En Rose that I saw in 2007. At that time already, I had been interested in French language and culture, and watching the movie made me want to learn more about this singer.

This book, however, is not just about Piaf-the-singer, for that is a well known talent of hers, a talent that no one will ever be able to match. The book is also about all of the other things that made Piaf herself: her mercilessness, her love affairs, her masochism, her generosity, her fantasies, and her kindness.

This is a fantastic read that made me realize many things about Edith Piaf that I had no idea about. Unsurprisingly though, it did not help me understand her more. She was and stays an enigma.

The way the book is made up and some of the language it uses give away that this is a book written a while ago (translated in 1981). I am now interested to see if there is a more recent biography of the Legend.

[Ida]

Hardly a biography. More like an expanded news article... considerably lacking so much in detail and just chockful of elementary perspective.

[Lily]

This book has sat on my to read list for so long. I finally decided it was time to finally finish it. It was a insightful illustration on Edith Piaf, one of my favorite singers.

[Kai Weber]

The German translation is lousy. Not sure if the translator or the author is to be blamed, probably both. The text is incoherent, words are oddly chosen, people that are spoken about are not introduced, sometimes only referred to by their first name. This would be ok if the purpose of the book is a poetic rather than a factual account of the life of Édith Piaf. (I'm not sure what's the purpose of the book. There are a few bearable passages that could be in a poetic account. But maybe they got in by accident.) The way it is it is not an account of anything, just rambling.

[Erma Odrach]

What a tragic and intense life Edith Piaf had! Lange's bio takes you right into the heart of things and with great photos. At the start of Chapter 1, Bruno Coquatrix says it all, "She spent her whole life taking revenge on her frightful youth." Piaf, the all-time great, the diminutive French star, was iconic and her music captured the world.

[Julie Kent]

As compelling as Madame Piaf's life was...this book doesn't delve too deeply in documenting her life. There was so much to this life story that has gone unwritten..