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Conversations with Greta Garbo
Few stars have commanded a fascination as enduring as Greta Garbo's. And few stars have been as reclusive as she. The author is one of the few journalists to have penetrated her inner circle and become her friend and confidant. Out of that friendship comes this book of candid interviews and many never-before-seen photographs, 25,000 print.
- GenresNonfictionBiographyFilm
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 8, 2017
Best insight into Greta Garbo's personality that I have ever found. Such a great book, I could hardly put it down!
July 26, 2012
Ratings clarification 3-1/2 stars
I really liked the look into her life in Sweden before, during and after her career, as well as her early reflections of Hollywood. At some points the "Conversations" tended to get boring or rambling and didn't reveal anything exciting. Maybe my feelings towards this book were tainted by the fact that the author was a close friend of Ms. Garbo late in her life, almost a companion to her. He taped his talks with her, he says with her permission, but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone as protective of her private life as she was, would knowingly let her conversations be recorded for later publication. It just didn't sit right with me and maybe that has jaded my opinions. This is one of the books that my grandmother and I picked out and read together, so that means it will always have a special place in my book reading history. She remembered when Garbo came to Hollywood, thought she was quite "loose" and the big uproar when she left (too bad she sold off all those old Hollywood magazines when I was a kid). It was after Garbo retired that my grandmother gained a respect for her and her efforts to protect her privacy, she too felt that the author didn't "do right by Garbo".
The black and white photographs are absolutely stunning and many personal photographs from all stages of her life. These make it worth it for the Garbo fan.
I really liked the look into her life in Sweden before, during and after her career, as well as her early reflections of Hollywood. At some points the "Conversations" tended to get boring or rambling and didn't reveal anything exciting. Maybe my feelings towards this book were tainted by the fact that the author was a close friend of Ms. Garbo late in her life, almost a companion to her. He taped his talks with her, he says with her permission, but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone as protective of her private life as she was, would knowingly let her conversations be recorded for later publication. It just didn't sit right with me and maybe that has jaded my opinions. This is one of the books that my grandmother and I picked out and read together, so that means it will always have a special place in my book reading history. She remembered when Garbo came to Hollywood, thought she was quite "loose" and the big uproar when she left (too bad she sold off all those old Hollywood magazines when I was a kid). It was after Garbo retired that my grandmother gained a respect for her and her efforts to protect her privacy, she too felt that the author didn't "do right by Garbo".
The black and white photographs are absolutely stunning and many personal photographs from all stages of her life. These make it worth it for the Garbo fan.
July 20, 2023
Greta Garbo was undoubtedly one of the greatest film stars of the 20th Century. She had what Billy Wilder referred to as "flesh impact", meaning the camera loved her. When she appears on the screen all eyes are on her. She was one of a kind with talents that few will ever possess. Her films still mesmerize. She is timeless and the other actors might as well not even be there. Most of her leading men appear "silly".
However reading this book of conversations with the author Sven Broman and others, she comes across as vain, selfish, boring, totally unaware and totally disdainful of her millions of fans and/or anyone unless they happened to be immediate family, royalty or immensely wealthy.
Instead of the mysterious Greta Garbo , who wanted to be left alone, this book makes her appear as a very ungrateful and shallow human being totally consumed with herself. So very sad.
However reading this book of conversations with the author Sven Broman and others, she comes across as vain, selfish, boring, totally unaware and totally disdainful of her millions of fans and/or anyone unless they happened to be immediate family, royalty or immensely wealthy.
Instead of the mysterious Greta Garbo , who wanted to be left alone, this book makes her appear as a very ungrateful and shallow human being totally consumed with herself. So very sad.
July 14, 2025
garbo saying that her and katharine hepburn helped launch polo-neck sweaters for women is so true. both of these women were trendsetters, i love and respect them so much.
this book made me watch garbo's last film "two-faced woman" and let me tell you this film didn't deserve any of the hate it got.
"i dreamed of being able to lead my own life." is my favorite garbo quote.
garbo was a beautiful person inside and out. i enjoyed reading about her love for animals.
"i'm always on the look-out for bread to feed the squirrels." her heart was so pure.
also her advising gunnila bernadotte not to wear bras was so real lmao. loved this part a lot.
this was a really fun book to read. i enjoyed discovering new information about garbo and how amazing she was. the last chapter made me tear up. i love you so much greta garbo.
this book made me watch garbo's last film "two-faced woman" and let me tell you this film didn't deserve any of the hate it got.
"i dreamed of being able to lead my own life." is my favorite garbo quote.
garbo was a beautiful person inside and out. i enjoyed reading about her love for animals.
"i'm always on the look-out for bread to feed the squirrels." her heart was so pure.
also her advising gunnila bernadotte not to wear bras was so real lmao. loved this part a lot.
this was a really fun book to read. i enjoyed discovering new information about garbo and how amazing she was. the last chapter made me tear up. i love you so much greta garbo.
March 29, 2013
If I didn't keep choosing fiction over finishing up this book, I could have read it in a day or two.
Conversations with Greta Garbo is anything but cohesive. Broman writes (rather randomly, almost 3/4 of the way through), "The picture I am drawing of Garbo may seem a bit jumpy and disconnected." He's right--it does. He chocks that up to Garbo's own individual way of thinking and communicating, but Broman surely could have constructed a less fragmented volume. I'm not sure I have a ton of faith in Broman, but this is still a fun book.
Reading this and perusing its many photographs, the discomfort of being interested in, feeling empathy toward, and respecting Garbo is really hitting me in a way it hasn't so much in the past. Quite a few of the pictures here look personal. Some of them, such as the photos of Garbo on board the Drottningholm with her friends the Lundborgs, are wonderful and terrible at the same time: they show a natural, private Garbo. I love them, but I can't ignore the nagging feeling that they're none of my business. A portion of the other pictures reproduced here are obviously paparazzi shots--the very kinds of intrusions into Garbo's daily life that troubled her so and made her feel like she had to retreat into a deeply private world.
Conversations with Greta Garbo is anything but cohesive. Broman writes (rather randomly, almost 3/4 of the way through), "The picture I am drawing of Garbo may seem a bit jumpy and disconnected." He's right--it does. He chocks that up to Garbo's own individual way of thinking and communicating, but Broman surely could have constructed a less fragmented volume. I'm not sure I have a ton of faith in Broman, but this is still a fun book.
Reading this and perusing its many photographs, the discomfort of being interested in, feeling empathy toward, and respecting Garbo is really hitting me in a way it hasn't so much in the past. Quite a few of the pictures here look personal. Some of them, such as the photos of Garbo on board the Drottningholm with her friends the Lundborgs, are wonderful and terrible at the same time: they show a natural, private Garbo. I love them, but I can't ignore the nagging feeling that they're none of my business. A portion of the other pictures reproduced here are obviously paparazzi shots--the very kinds of intrusions into Garbo's daily life that troubled her so and made her feel like she had to retreat into a deeply private world.
March 25, 2012
A collection of Garbo's memories, as told to the author late in her life. Even the non-Garbo fan will find some interest in the tales of the famed actress. The photos of Garbo during different stages of her life are compelling.
April 29, 2019
Even though I have finished the book in a very short period of time I can't actually tell you that I liked it. It was great to get to know Garbo by her words that she had permitted to be printed but I can't help feel ashamed to read about her private life. The book's lack of chronical sequence of time made me disoriented during my reading. I have read about her before and some of them conflict the ones I read in the book. I don't know which one is true but I dont care because I dont have any expectations. Despite the fact that I could not manage to get a certain portrait of Garbo from the book, the things I read were very unique. There were also some rare photos of her that I liked.
May 30, 2021
Excellent book which provided unexpected insights into Garbo's thinking, personality and life. Perhaps it's because the author was also Swedish that she trusted him and he understood her.
October 18, 2022
Tack Sven Broman för denna resa genom Gretas liv.
April 6, 2016
Svenska originalet: "Greta Garbo berättar för Sven Broman"
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews