A narrative about a person so full of contradictions is bound to be interesting. When the subject is fearless, rich, intelligent, passionate, neurotic, determined, talented, political, and forever childish, there's a danger of setting up a kind of monument to the public persona. This edifice is then available for every response from rotten eggs to garlands of gardenias. Bosworth succeeds in erecting a transparent but unavoidable screen to give a reader a chance to take a second and third look before deciding whether to be seduced or enraged, saddened or disgusted.
This book leads you through so many transformations right up to the last page, you realize that there are a few abiding foundations of Jane's personality, but they tend to be obscured by her basic failure to identify herself to herself. Perhaps this is inherent in the profession of not only acting, but of being an actress. If Bosworth does nothing else, it is to jolt us into remembering that nothing in a growing person is simple, and even tiny memories or events may be implicated in a life when its owner is as transformable as a frightened octopus.
It helps to be reminded of how far from ordinary most of Jane's life journey has been. Other people have been profoundly influenced by unfortunate childhoods, yet Jane was not only scarred by hers, she cherished the damage. By providing whatever information she could glean, Bosworth provides considerable objectivity. When people from Jane's distant past reappear more than once in sympathetic roles, the reader is left to interpret such unexpected loyalties.
Bosworth uses the term "redefining" often. The final line expresses her assessment of Jane Fonda that readers will find accurate: … she seemed to be pondering her own authenticity. It's likely that the reader will feel well served with the layers of information offered in this remarkable work that presents a life in print that they could never get to know in person. At the end, you're left with questions still. This is a life story that presents a personality so deftly, so intricately, and yet with enough true mystery, it's as if you might have met her. Hard to praise a biography more than that.
©2011 Joan L. Cannon for SeniorWomen.com
And Consider This
Red Grooms' New York: 1976-2011
Marlborough Gallery on West 57th Street in Manhattan
Closing on October 22, 2011
An homage to this Tennessee native's adopted hometown, the exhibit features works from his first show at the Marlborough in 1976 — the famed Ruckus Manhattan — in addition to a madcap collection of paintings, sculptures and walk-through "sculpto-pictoramas" depicting the high-life, low-life and in-between-life of the metropolis.
Drawing on influences as diverse as Thomas Rowlandson and American folk and Pop art, with a nod to Reginald Marsh and the Ashcan School, Grooms takes us to a pop-up St. Patrick's Cathedral at Easter (Easter Parade, 1994), the windows at Saks at Christmas (Saks Fifth Avenue, 1994), a free-standing peep house in Times Square (Porno Bookstore, 1976), a glistening duck house in Chinatown (The Duck House, 1994), and just to let you know that he may be 74 but he's still in the know, Tribeca (Count Tribecula, 2011).
His eclectic cast of characters can view the hustle and bustle of the city's street life from cushioned seats in the artist's almost life-size M5 bus (The Bus, 1995), sheathed in vinyl and nylon and stopped smack in the middle of the gallery. If you need a break from the dizzy spectacle that surrounds you, board the bus and take a load off — because you can.
©2011 Val Castronovo for SeniorWomen.com
Red Grooms: Easter Parade, 1994; mixed media construction. 88 1/8 x 86 3/4 x 34 inches. Marlborough Gallery, 40 West 57th Street, NYC.
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